MilSpouse Life
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 [...]
strong military spouse
10 Things Military Spouses Don’t Need to Do Anymore
I've been a military spouse for fifteen years. I enjoy it for the most part. I've gone through multiple deployments. TDYs. Daddy dolls (using this daddy doll tutorial). PCS moves. Having a baby with a service member. But I notice I'm different in what I choose to do. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert. Possibly it's because I'm rather [...]
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 [...]
Deployment10 Things Military Spouses Won’t Tell You About Deployment
I remember the first time my husband called me after returning from Iraq. I was a military girlfriend and living long-distance at the time. Hence the phone call. So…We were chatting away, and I was feeling all sorts of happy butterflies because he was finally home. And we were—finally—going to see each other and spend time together! [...]
5 Times Military Spouses Made All the Difference
A friend and I were eating a quick lunch at quaint coffee shop in coastal North Carolina. Our table overlooked the Atlantic Ocean, and for a moment, I thought I was in heaven as I kicked my feet back and sipped on my caramel macchiato. I looked over to my friend, half-smiled and said, “You know, even though they’re gone, it’s not so bad. [...]
How to Make Time for Yourself as a Military Spouse
This military life is crazy. It's full of uncertainty, hurry up and waiting, and lots of packing or unpacking. As military spouses, we move, we take care of the house, we work, we raise kiddos, and then we repeat. All day, every day. It can be easy to lose yourself in all that chaos. Putting yourself last because of your spouse, [...]
10 Things Strong Military Spouses Do Differently
It wasn’t good news. “My husband’s leaving tomorrow,” she said. She just got word from her husband that he would be deploying within the next 24 hours. There was no notice. There was no quality family time with the kids at the park. It was simply pack your bags and leave. Gulp. [...]
When You’re Stretched Too Thin as a Military Spouse
It hit me all at once. There I was--a military spouse on her way home from a teaching job and the daycare pick up--with the sobbing baby screaming in the back seat. I had dinner to cook, a bath to give, and the bedtime routine to do before I could throw in the laundry and grade papers. The tears started rolling down my face and my [...]
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 [...]
How Strong Military Spouses Rock Deployments
I peeled my body out of bed at 5 am, washed my face with Noxzema and headed straight for the kitchen. Even as a military spouse in the middle of deployment, I can’t help but creep my way out of bed to greet the stillness of morning. [...]
