Abigail P., Homeschool
Been There, Done That
The life of a military child has never been easy. Even though my dad has been in the Air Force since before I was born, we moved less than most. We came to Ohio when I was four and lived there for over six years; same house, normal childhood. Being homeschooled, I never had very many friends, but I had my siblings, and I didn’t care. Life was good. I didn’t have the slightest clue of the change that was rapidly approaching me.
None of us really wanted to move. Shreveport, Louisiana? We could do better than that, right? Well, as it turned out, it couldn’t have been any more spectacular. I spent the best two years of my life there. We lived on Barksdale Air Force Base, surrounded by the military community. Kids like me. My self-confidence soared while we lived there. I had numerous friends. I could have stayed there forever. Then we got our orders. Again.
We moved back to Ohio in the spring. At first it was overwhelming. Seeing the places I knew so well made it begin to feel as if Barksdale had never happened. On our first day back at church, I walked into my youth group, expecting a welcome from the people who I’d known. They ignored me; by the end of the lesson only one person had said hello. My self-confidence plummeted. I was back to being my ten-year-old self, except this time I knew what having friends was like. I spent my time dreaming up fantasies about being back at Barksdale and feeling sorry for myself. A whole year went by like this. One year down, and I was starting to get excited; we finally would be learning where we would move next spring. My dad would be going to school for one year. I’d have a fresh start.
God had other plans for us. Recently my dad discovered he was on the secondary list for school, lowering our chances of moving drastically. I was devastated. Here another year? Then it hit me. Maybe God took this from me to show me that I can’t wait for a perfect life; I’ll always be disappointed if I do. I have to make the best of what He’s given me. Besides, I am a teenager now and even if we could all move back to Barksdale, it would never be the same. It was a great experience for a great time in my life. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Recently, I have reconnected with some of my old friends from Barksdale, and my self-confidence has been inching back up again. I still don’t feel at ease around all the kids in my youth group, but that’s gradually changing too. Life is looking up. My plan for life is to find the beauty right where I am. And never waste time waiting for something better. Been there, done that.
