Renée Bertrard is a retired military Veteran, with 20 years of service. She moved here, with her family, in 2018.
Hi Renée. Can you tell us a little bit about your family?
I’m a 20 year Veteran, retired now. My family includes four children, ranging from ages 3 to 17—Alexander, Samuel, Katie, and Kalli. We moved to PEI in 2018.
What does being a military family mean to you?
I chose to come here because it’s so quiet and life has a much slower rhythm here than elsewhere. I used to be regular force so it was go-go-go constant training… and sadly the kids do pay for that. It was a chaotic lifestyle. I no longer have the chaotic lifestyle anymore but there is the chaos that you bring back home, the mental health of what I brought back from military service and also the adjustment to the civilian life and of course the kids are involved in that. Having the time here to heal and get back on track means a lot to me and for the family, too.
Tell us about a few challenges about being a military family that either you’ve experienced now or you have in the past.
Trying to be present for my children was very hard. You’d be present for anyone else in the world, but not necessarily your family—physically and mentally. You get into a psychological mode where you’re on autopilot and you don’t necessarily recognize a lot of things—emotions aren’t necessarily connected the same way as others. That was a huge challenge.
What about some of the joys that come from being a military family?
I think it’s awesome. I was myself a “military brat”—my dad was in the military.
Being in the military, you learn other languages and other cultures…you’re more resilient. I see this in my kids, as well. They’re more resilient, more easily adaptable to other situations…like Fiona or Covid! They don’t panic, when the world crashes down around you.
Can you speak to the role of the MFRC in your life?
It’s a good resource…as much as for the parent as for the kids. The summer camps are the biggest things for us, especially with having 4 kids. One of our teens said “she feels she can be herself” in these camps—like she’s going into another world. She can relax and be a kid—and that’s a challenge we face in our family. They’re already talking about jobs, future, the school, and it’s hard to keep them in the child mode. MFRC activities help. I brought my three teenagers to the pumpkin carving, for example, and they all loved it. It’s a fun thing to do.
For me, the MFRC keeps me connected to the military world, especially as I’m now retired and not officially a part of the system. Just being in the culture and seeing other military folks…when you walk into a room full of those people, you don’t need to talk, you just understand each other. The MFRC is like my family. This feels like home. There’s something familiar.