2024/Natsume -30346

I was born in Yokohama, Japan, and my mom was born in Tokyo. My little sister was born in Hawaii, and my dad was born in Massachusetts. Our family was born in other places and born on different days, months, and years.

The hardest thing that I go through as a Military Child is that I miss my dad a lot, because he is in the military.

When we moved, I got to pick my room, and it’s upstairs. I love it, because I have a lot of space to put all of my toys and other stuff like my collection of tiny toys.

I would like to live in Korea, if I could pick any place to move to, because it has a bunch of gummy bears and more kinds of gummies and drinks and more. I have never been to Korea, but I want to go. My Mom teaches me a few Korean words that she has learned.

I have one pet. He’s an Australian dog, and his name is Blue. My dad likes the color blue, and that’s how he got his name. My dog is good at seeing new people and jumping on people and he likes pets from his owner like my dad or me and my mom. He likes them a lot. He is sometimes funny and grumpy.

When I go to a new school, I try to make friends and be kind to my friends all day long. I will look for friends and meet new teachers at school. I will also try to be friends with new students that come here. I will hug my friends and say goodbye to my friends and make cards to remember them. I will write my name on the cards, and they will make me a card too when I move. They will be sad and lonely, and I hope they make more friends. I am going to make new friends and they will too when there is a new student coming and they will tell them my name. They will say hello to me and how was your day at school today at this new school.

I lived in San Diego, Tokyo, and Osaka, Yokosuka, and the last place was Sasebo.

I like Osaka because it has a Universal Studio, and it was fun. We got to stay there for 3 days, and I saw Mario, Luigi, Snoopy and the Minions and Harry Potter. Everything was so much fun and my Dad came. It was a little hard when I went to a new school, because I get shy sometimes.

All About My Dad

My Dad’s name is Ryan. My Dad was born in Massachusetts. He has 2 brothers. He likes the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, anything New England related. His hobbies are lifting weights, playing video games, and keeping up with his kids. His favorite food in Japan is Coco’s, His favorite food overall is probably Pizza. His favorite dessert is Cheesecake, because he can never say no! His favorite drink is probably Coke Zero. His favorite movies? He can’t choose between Star Wars or Batman.

On his days off, he likes playing with his kids and just trying to relax.

The Military Life

My Dad works on a system that collects radar signals, so when it collects them, he can tell what kind of radar it is. What my Dad likes most about the Navy is when he got to move to Japan, he got to go to different countries. He is able to work on different things as well.

My Dad says it’s definitely hard moving, saying goodbye to all your friends and co-workers, packing up all your stuff, and trying to figure out what you need now and what you can wait to have. It’s hard. The most interesting thing that he’s seen since exploring the world with the Navy was that he got to go to Steve Irwin’s zoo last year. He remembers watching him when he was young, so that was something really neat to see. What he likes most about working for the Navy is now, it’s making a difference and trying to give back to this new generation that’s coming in.

His Family

My Dad has 2 children. His challenges with having kids in the military are that it’s hard watching us get bigger and knowing that we’re doing cool things when he’s at sea. He figured out how to separate home and work life, so he doesn’t tend to bring a lot home with him.

My Dad likes watching us grow. From the first time we fed ourselves, used the potty, everything. He can’t pick exactly what he likes, because it’s all an experience that he would never give up. One family tradition we might have is maybe Taco Night. Before I leave for an underway we always get steak and when he comes back, we go to Coco Ichibanya.

His Military Friends

It was hard at first, saying goodbye to friends and family, but now we’ve done it so much we’re able to deal with it better, he thinks. It’s definitely hard watching your good friends leave. My friends were happy for us when my Dad told them that we were moving. They knew that he wanted to leave. Most of my Dad’s time is spent with his kids, but mainly when he hangs out with his friends, they play games or watch movies. Usually, it’s at an event they have to go to. His friends support him by listening to him when he needs to talk. He always finds friends quickly when we move somewhere new. We don't’ have a system when it’s time to move, because it’s different each time. He says that our process works, so we’ll keep that, but it’s really stressful.