Justin Lord is a Veteran, with a decade of service. He’s pictured here with his wife, Christine, and their children, Charlotte and James.
Hello Justin. Can you tell us a bit about your family?
I’m a retired Veteran. My wife, Christine, and I have two children, James (6) and Charlotte (11), plus we’re expecting a new arrival this spring.
What does being a military family mean to you?
You hear the phrase “military brotherhood,” and sometimes I discount that, but then a buddy of mine, who I probably haven’t seen in 15 years, would drive to PEI from Ottawa just to visit me and it’s like we’ve never been apart—buddies again. There’s an element of service to being a military family, as well as a sense of community.
It’s a point of pride with the kids—they get me to go into their schools to talk and such.
Tell us about a few challenges about being a military family that either you’ve experienced now or you have in the past.
I didn’t have the kids when I was deployed; I couldn’t imagine going now. I have some injuries related to service that I’m always working on. Sometimes my kids have questions that can be tricky. They’re intuitive and they put connections together, asking about people dying in service and such. That can be hard.
Tell us about some of the joys that come from being a Veteran family.
The MFRC is a big one. It’s a big joy. Our kids love coming here—as do we. Aside from organizing events, they also support family life with things such as pool passes and movie passes. The MFRC is invaluable to our family.
Can you elaborate on the role of the MFRC in your life?
It’s huge. Life can be a rat race, trying to find time to do things. MFRC supports us in spending time with the family, without a huge effect on our pocketbook. We’ve taken part in many of their activities and we’ve availed of their services, too. The MFRC helps us to have a community we can lean on.