Mighty Midgets!

Baby Barnes 2012

It is the month of the Military child and I feel like I would be remiss if I did not dedicate at least one post to these mighty little midgets.

Military kids are as diverse and unique as there are different colors of crayons made by Crayola. Some of them take this lifestyle in stride and others need extra love and support along the way. But then again I don’t know one spouse, male or female, that has not needed a hand to hold or shoulder to cry on along the way. And we are the adults!


I think sometimes we get into a feeling of “normalcy” in this abnormal lifestyle. In this I think we sometimes forget to appreciate the challenges that our children face and overcome on such a regular basis. I look at my children and think about the friends they have made and some day will have to say goodbye to. As adults we are able to look at all the life changes and accept them on a fundamental level. We are the ones that make the decision to serve this country. I am a firm believer in “the whole family serves phrase.” A lot of times our children have yet to develop enough, to have these mental processes to help them cope. Yet, they some how manage to adapt and overcome all of the challenges this lifestyle tosses at them.

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This deployment was eye opening for me in some ways. One day at the beginning of this, I found our 6 year old at the time staring out the living room window singing her very own made up little song:

Deployment sucks, deployment sucks,
everybody should know, deployment sucks!

Deployment sucks, deployment sucks,
everybody should know, deployment sucks!

Because when I was little, really small. Only 6 about 7
You were gone!

It wasn’t so easy to figure out why, the first time!
But once I grown up, when I was 6 almost 7. I figured out why.

I didn’t know how to explain it!
My days got worse as they passed by

What I didn’t know is

Deployment sucks, deployment sucks,
everybody should know deployment sucks!

I stood there dumb founded for a minute listening to her sing, eyes filling with tears. I felt every word of her little song, and the heart beak in her voice. I felt it in a way I could not explain in words. I could not even bring myself to tell her, saying things suck is a bad idea. In this case, she had a pass and I agreed with her! I then, being the wonderful parent I am, grabbed the camcorder and had her sing it again. This moment of listening to her sing and trying to process this lifestyle and this deployment. Reminded me of a little reality, there I was struggling to get my feet under me. Three weeks notice for a one year long deployment had definitely taken the rug out from under my feet as an adult. This challenge must have felt a bit more like an obstacle course on steroids to her.

Yet, time goes on and here we are months later and she has found her way. She no longer sings deployment sucks but asks to send silly videos and write e-mails.

I am proud of her and all the other military children. They face so many challenges yet somehow when it is all said and done end up landing on their feet.

Honoring and thinking of all the mighty little midgets out there. In this the month of the military child and always!

Barnes Mighty Midgets