MilSpouse Life
"Let's go sit in the driveway with our firepit and drink a beer," he said. With that one simple suggestion, we were searching (sitting 😉) to find some new friends after PCSing. Grab the dog and the kids and make them come out there too. We're like a display at a mall. We should've made a sign that read, "In search of friends. We aren't [...]
friendship
The Pain of Saying Goodbye to Your Military Spouse Tribe
A huge thank you to Kellie Artis is the Director of Content for MILLIE for contributing this post. Who’s guilty of mentally checking out as soon as you get PCS orders? One could hardly blame us. In the military community, our friend-turnover rate is high, and our friend-courting phase is typically very short. Think about it: If you [...]
5 Things MilSpouses Want Their Far Away Friends to Know
My throat felt tight. I hugged my soon-to-be long distance friend one last time in the parking lot of a local breakfast joint. I chocked back the tears as best I could, but it was a losing battle. They started to stream down my face, mingling with the sweat from my morning run. My friend and I half-smiled as we watched our kids play [...]
How to Build a MilSpouse Network That Will Support You
Making friends as a military spouse is almost like speed dating. You arrive at a location. You put your best self out there. You awkwardly approach new people and share personal details of your lives. And just when you are getting comfortable with a person, you move on. It's weird and strange to essentially look at making [...]
21 Long Distance Friendship Truths Only a Military Spouse Will Understand
I stood in my living room looking out the window when I saw her. She was walking her golden retriever around the neighborhood, and I vividly remember—as if it happened this morning—seeing her bubbly brown-haired self and the dog walk past the front of my house in slow motion. I was dealing with some major PCS anxiety because all I kept [...]
What No One Tells You About The Military Spouse Community
At age two and three months, my toddler learned how to open doors. It was my worst nightmare is a parent. Now I had a child who could escape. God help us all. He could also open the pantry and fridge when I wasn’t looking. I swear I was only in the bathroom for exactly two minutes. When I returned, there he was standing on the third [...]
What to Do When You Feel Lonely in Military Life
My husband is gone a lot for work. This is the military life we chose. We both accepted the responsibility of this choice, and we are more than willing to see it through. However being apart, as a family, is met with a very hefty set of challenges. Sometimes I feel like a lonely military wife. There is a stillness in the house during [...]
How to Build the Military Spouse Community You Always Wanted
Traveling to the East Coast to visit my active duty boyfriend for the first time, I got my first taste of what the military community was like. It was a discouraging experience. I flew back to my home in the Midwest thinking that military life was not for me. After a weekend filled with beaches, social barbeques, and night life, you would [...]
5 Things You Miss Most Living Far From Family
When we first moved to Japan, I knew it would change us forever. So much of the change I anticipated was good. Honestly. We wanted to come here. We volunteered. And we are really pretty happy here. People often ask us if we will extend our tour in Japan when our time is up. Countless military families do this, and funny enough, some stay [...]
3 Signs You’re Friends With an Awesome Military Spouse
Anytime you are part of a life where you move around a lot, you start to find out who your true friends are real fast. Some people just aren’t very good friends. You can spot them from a mile away. They rarely reciprocate kindness or reach out to you when you are struggling. They ignore your phone calls completely or cancel on you at the [...]
