Rite of Passage

If you grew up in the military you know that military brats have a 'rite of passage' that happens when they are 10 years old.

10 years old is that magical age when a military child can have their very own I.D. card. It's exciting! You feel more grown up with this I.D. card that you see adults showing everywhere they go on base.

I still remember the day my dad took me to get my first I.D. card. 

It was a big deal to be able to show my I.D. card when we went to the BX, or movie theater. I learned to never leave home without it!

Leading up to her 10th birthday I kept talking to Kayla about getting her own I.D. card after she turned 10. Shortly after her birthday we drove past the base and she said, "What about on base? What about my I.D. card?"

I don't think it'll mean the same to her as it did to me ... mainly because we don't live on base. When I was growing up we always lived on base. And when we lived at Hanscom AFB in MA it seemed everything was pretty much in walking distance. I walked to the Youth Center, Bowling Alley, BX, Commissary, movie theater, pool. Different place, different time.

I will have to make sure to take Kayla's card with me when we do go on base. I know she'll want to show the gate guard (even though she doesn't have to) because she sees me do it. I'll have to take her to the BX so she can buy something and show her card to the cashier.

So a rite of passage passed down from one generation to another:





And the picture of myself, at 10 years old, getting my first I.D. card...