The month of April is coming to a close.  Rob left to go TDY (military lingo for temporary duty - or in this case, training, elsewhere) yesterday.  It's a short separation.  Thankfully.  But it is just another reminder of this crazy lifestyle we are associated with.

This month, the month of April, the nation takes a moment to celebrate all the military children in this nation.  The kids born into this lifestyle and not given a choice.  The resilient kids who grow up far away from family and friends but somehow manage to make the best out of every situation.

I am the mother of not just one, but two, military children now.  One born in Georgia while stationed at Fort Gordon.  The other born in Tennessee while stationed at Fort Campbell.  The chances of them graduating in the same state they were born in are very slim.  Who knows where we will be 16 and 18 years from now.

Both girls have now gone through separations from their daddy, and it is certainly not going to be the last time either.  They will look back on life and have periods where their parent is missing, but they will carry on in the face of adversity because it will be all they have ever known.

Do I wish sometimes my kids could live down the street from their grandparents and grow up next to their cousins and aunts and uncles?  Yes.  More than anything.  But I know that my children will grow up with a unique set of personality traits and life memories that others may not get.  They will grow up strong - partly because they are military children.

So today... I thank the Lord for these amazing little people who take this lifestyle by the horns and don't look back.  Today, I celebrate them.  Through all the stresses of being by myself with them, I am thankful to have these sweet little girls to help me through the trials of the military life.



always,
amanda