Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Two Yelm High School students, Jackson Gray, senior, and Mariah Gibson, junior, spoke to attendees of the Yelm Community Schools (YCS) board of directors meeting on Thursday, April 16, to shine a light on their experiences in life as military-connected students.
Gray spoke about his military childhood and some of the challenges that arose, but first, he honored the 40th anniversary of the month of the military child — Åpril.
“Since 1986, this month has been a time to recognize nearly two million children who serve alongside their parents,” Gray said. “This year’s theme is ‘Legacy of Resilience.’ For us graduating this spring, that legacy is something we carry in our backpacks every day.”
Gray specified that YHS is the 10th school that he’s attended as a military-connected student. With each new school he’d attend, Gray would have to relearn the hallways, attest to new state requirements and standards, and simply find his place in nearly a dozen different communities.
“The military child story isn’t just my story,” Gray said. “Tonight, we want to show you what that life looks like behind the statistics.”
Gibson followed Gray’s comments, and said she’s honored to share her piece, “The Weight of the Uniform,” with attendees of the YCS board of directors meeting. According to Gibson, the vision for her piece was to highlight the reintegration of military families and provide a glimpse of what kind of emotion military students go through.
She read:
“The Weight of the Uniform.
I grew up with a hero whose face I didn’t always get to see.
While other kids were learning to ride bikes with their dads, mine was learning how to survive halfway across the world.
He wore the Green Beret, the mark of a special forces soldier. But to me, it was the reason his hugs always felt borrowed — like he was already gone.
We didn’t move from base to base like some families did, but the distance found other ways to travel.
It crept in through the empty chairs at dinner, the phone calls that cut out with laughter and the nights of long lasting prayer to fill the silence he left behind.
Homecomings were never simple.
When he came back, it wasn’t just his boots that were heavy. It was his heart.
War changes the rhythm of a person, and learning how to dance with him again was its own kind of battle.
I used to think that strength meant being unshakable, but now I know that it means holding on even when everything inside of you struggles.
Being a military kid taught me that love can exist in distance, and that service is something the whole family gives — not just the one in uniform.
Yet, with all the struggles came a strange time of grace.
The military didn’t just take a piece of my childhood. It also gave me a purpose.
It gave me a story to tell, a reason to sit on panels and share what life is behind the salute, and what it really looks like.
It gave me pride — not just in my dad’s courage, but in my own resilience.
Now, as I prepare for college, the VA has opened doors that my dad’s sacrifices helped unlock.
His service built bridges for my future, bridged out across carrying his name, his lessons and the strength of every family who’s ever waited for their soldier to come home because being a military kid means growing up with a heart in two worlds.
One that fears goodbye, and one that never stops believing in return.”
Following Gibson’s reading of “The Weight of the Uniform,” Gray said the passage reminds military-connected families that while their lives are often defined by goodbyes, they’re also built on the foundation of strength.
“As I look towards graduation, my final transition before heading out to the world, I realize those 10 schools gave me a perspective I wouldn’t have had under (different) circumstances,” Gray said. “Being a military connected student means learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. It means being inclusive because we know what it’s like to be an outsider. It’s realizing that home isn’t a fixed point on the map. It’s where family is.”
