Penny's Diary: A Soldiers Daughter

Dear Diary,

        I know what it is like to be a child of a soldier. My father was a soldier for 20 years. He was in the United States Army. I noticed at a very young age that my father wasn't around that often. He had missed several birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. He missed out on me growing up. He basically watched me grow up in pictures. I remember playing softball and not seeing him in the stands cheering me on. Or how he couldn't make it to one of my school plays because he was in the field. Growing up I blamed him for this and as I grew into my teen years, I was angry. I desperately wanted my father around. And I felt that I was cheated out of having a father that I so badly needed and deserved. 

We travelled all the time. Basically about every three years we moved. If we didn't move to a different state, it was to a different country. I couldn't keep friends for long because by the time I had gotten to know them and become close, it was time for us to leave again. I was always the new girl in school. I got adjusted to one school and had to readjust to another in 2-3 years. Life for me wasn't bad though as far as being fortunate enough to have the necessities in life. The Army had provided the family full medical and dental care. But, as fortunate as I was in those aspects, I wasn't fortunate enough to have my father in my life.

Now that I am older and on my own, I realize that this isn't my father's fault. He chose this career. But he did what he thought was best to provide for a family. It took some time for me to realize that he missed us as much as we missed him. And how badly he wanted to be there for us as well. I realized that my father had to do what he had to do to make my mom's, my sister and my life a little better. My father is retired now, he retired when I was 16 years old. I thought at that point it was too late to build a close bond with my father. I have been proven wrong. I think his only regret is that he didn't get to have the time with my sister and I like he had wanted. But I know he doesn't regret serving his country. In fact, I think he misses it.

 

Politics Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about. more Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination 26.Aug 2011 Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT 10.Mar 2011 ...read Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ! 10.Mar 2011 Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!) 28.Feb 2011 Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read THE ASSANGE CASE. CIA INTERFERED WITH SWEDISH LEGAL PROCESSES EXTREME RIGHT POLITICS A DANGER TO EUROPEAN UNITY THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY. OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF FOCUS, OUT OF CREDIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY, OUT OF THE DOOR Opinion World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today. more The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem 5.Mar 2011 So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out 31.Jan 2011 According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination 11.Oct 2010 The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos 4.Oct 2010 As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read

Travel Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN 13.Sep 2010 TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read more TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL. 5.Jun 2010 Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 16.Apr 2010 Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA. 5.Apr 2010 Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS. 2.Apr 2010 Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read Sport No Payoff From the Playoffs $16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire Stupid Athlete Tricks Technology Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks Twittering: I'm not that interesting Cheers Jesus' Answering Machine Brown Couch or twelve midgets in the town square How To Be Happy Drugged Out Saturday Nights Muslim Decapitation: Bad, or Simply Misunderstood?