As anyone that knows me in RL knows that I'm am Army Brat meaning that my dad served his country he was in the Army for what seems like forever okay it was close to 30yrs that he was in. He has since retied but I have grown up in that kind of life where you move around all the time, and the only constant things in your life are your family, grandparents [who live where your parents are really form],knowing that you will not be living in once place or even house or apt long, ID cards. I know what some of you maybe thinking poor girl had hard life living like this well I didn't in fact I had great life I loved and still love begin an Army Brat it's helped make me who I am today. I know that this life is not for everyone but it happens to be my life. I was online when I started to think of something I wanted to blog about and that happened to be this post how you can tell if your an Army Brat or not,how ever I know that some people who are not Army Brats will be able to relate to this as well so sit back and enjoy. I found some of these online they are " You know you are an Army Brat if......." I just had to share this as it relates to my life, it's long list somethings didn't apply to me so they didn't make the list but that is okay each Army Brat's life was different from each others. As I'm typing this I getting all kinds of great memories coming to me which I will share in some more blogs. Here's the you know your an Army Brat if..
You know you're a Military Brat if you...
- Actually like the clothes at the PX and don't mind that 100 other people are wearing the same thing.LOL fun and so true hey PX did/dose have some great clothes at times.
- All your former very best friends are as long gone as your last move.
- Always wish you were back at the last place you were stationed even 20 years later.True
- Answer the question "where are you from" with "I'm kinda from all over the place"
- Are able to imitate others speech patterns easily= I sure can
- Are amazed at people who have lived somewhere more than three years.
- Are amazed at people who have never left their hometown.
- Are amazed at people who have never seen foreign currency.
- Are amazed at people who think Frankfurt is a some kind of hotdog.
- Are asked "where did you learn to speak English so well"
- Are asked is it hard always moving around when you don't know anything else.
- Are brought to tears by military music.
- Are going to a grocery store but call it a commissary-Guilty.
- Are initially confused when asked where are you from but quickly respond "everywhere!"
- Avoid visiting the doctor because you don't trust civilian hospitals.
- Bagged groceries at the commissary on payday.-Oh I remember those days
- Can bounce a quarter off your bedsheets and have hospital corners on your bed.
- Can identify ranks and duty station by the stickers on the car's bumper.
- Can talk to anyone and everyone from anywhere and everywhere.
- Do not understand why many of your friends are afraid to be in an airplane.
- Don't feel quite right seeing military personnel younger than you.
- Don't really know how to answer the question "what is your hometown."
- Don't remember the names of your childhood friends.-This is true
- Draw a quick map of the world to show someone where you last lived.
- Ever got sick eating chocolate field rations.
- Every room you've ever had was stark white and you couldn't put nail holes in the walls-To this day I don't like white walls
- Everyone complains about your name being the most scratched out in their address book.
- Everywhere you go you think you see someone you went yo school with.
- Expect someone else to do your housework but can't afford it.
- Feared turning 21 because they would take your id card away.
- Feel like you should be visiting the states rather than living in them.
- Feel more at home on a military base than in town even though you've been a civilian for years
- Feel more comfortable living near a military base and get bummed out when a base gets closed.
- Felt like a part of history that was happening around you.
- Find that you can easily amuse yourself for hours at airports, train or bus stations.
- Graduated from a high school you only attended for few years.
- Had Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in a mess hall.
- Have a very best lifelong friend who you have known for less than a few years.
- Have forgotten how to speak more languages than most people ever learn.
- Knew the rank and name of the kid next door's father before meeting the kid next door.
- Know that Radio Luxembourg was the number one way to keep up with the latest rock and roll hits.
- Know the words and tune to military march songs.
- Know what "the land of the big PX is."
- Know what the "land of the round door knob is."
- Left school frequently for bomb scares.
- Miss shopping at AAFES or the PX.
- Never quite finished decorating your place because you knew you'd be moving soon.
- Notice Tom Cruise in uniform, outside with no hat and having a non-regulation haircut in Top Gun.
- Panic when you can't find you ID or passport.
- Put your hand over your heart at 5 p.m. knowing the flag was coming own ...somewhere
- Stand up for the National Anthem at the start of a movie in a theater.
- Thought all pens had "US Government" printed on them.
- Thought that the quartermaster was the real Santa Claus.
- Thought vacations meant going stateside to visit the grandparents.
- Try to take out your ID card when you enter a grocery store.
- Went into hysterics when your grandparents thought of selling their house.
- Wonder if dad signed a hand receipt when you were born.
- You are confused when someone talks about watching trees grow large in front of the house.
- Your ssn, home of record, state of residence, and place of birth are far from matching.
- Know PCS meant pack your toys and say see ya later.
when you see vapor trails in the sky, you ASSUME they're from military aircraft.
when you hear sonic booms, you snap to attention.
you notice increased military air-traffic prior to or during the escalation of international crisis.
everyone asks where you're from because they just can't quite peg your accent...
and you stand there with your mouth half-open because you're not sure where to begin!
you obsessively return to the dozen places you lived when you were a kid to "see what's changed".
If you don't have a hometown. I don't really know what's mine......
you hate living in the same place for more than two years, hate packing and cleaning, have your personal effects reduced each year instead of added to because of the moves
...tabula rasa means scrubbing white walls clean
when you go on vacation you dont have to pay for lodging because you have friends everywhere in the world
its perfectly acceptable not to write to your friends and still be considered a good friend
you can adopt any accent, cause you lived everywhere
you miss not having an ID card
if the smell of Brasso makes you homesick.
when asked how short are you know the correct answer is "short enough to sit on the edge of a dime an dangle your feet," and not that that you're 6ft tall.
also, you know if...when a movie starts you get ready to stand up waiting for the national anthem to play as well as that little musical ditti that leads into the upcoming features...
if you still refer to your underwear as "skivies"....
your friends expect you to know the songs for all the branches of the military - and you do
You keep a stockpile of canned foods, using them up and replacing them every year. You keep a small blanket and crackers in your car. You own more than 1 weather radio.
You cringe everytime someone goes near one of your (white) walls with a hammer and a nail.
If your parents move or sell their house, its not a real big deal....but if GRANDMA (whose home has been the only static thing in your childhood) thinks about calling the realtor, you have hysterics.
If your civilian friends got grounded, while you were on restriction... I thought everyone got on restriction. There was actually another word for it?
Maybe army brats got on restriction, but air force brats get grounded, at least the Canadian variety. Makes sense, doesn't it? "Grounded" has got to be a brat term that got loose on civvy street.
You know you're a military brat if you don't save things so's you don't go over the weight allowance of the next move..
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