Laura Kelley

The military life is full of ups and downs, ins and outs, hellos and goodbyes, friendships that last a season and some that last a lifetime. With all of the change and the chaos,...

November is the Month of the Military Family. I have been a part of a military family my whole life. My dad served in the Army for 30 years and retired the month after...

As a homeschool mom, the end of summer has both positive and negative connotations. I take a moment to mourn lazy mornings and endless hours of porch-sitting with friends. I now must get back...

... maybe it's because my family is from Texas. ... or perhaps because for the last three years we've been stationed at Fort Drum I've yearned for sunshine for months on end during the harsh,...

According to Webster's dictionary, "bereaved" means "suffering the death of a loved one." . With July being Bereaved Parents' Awareness Month, I found it fitting to write about my own parents as they lost their eldest...

Karla has held a unique and special place in my life since I was in the fifth grade. She was my history teacher that year. Her humor, candor, and compassion immediately drew me to...

Although I can't speak for all military families, I feel I can safely say that once the majority of military families are at a duty station for two years (give or take), you begin...

Resiliency. I often hear that word when someone is describing a child who has grown up in a military family. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, resiliency is defined as "the ability to recover from...

We, as a culture, love any story of strength, courage, determination, and integrity. Stories of the "underdog" tend to pull on our heartstrings all the more as we lean in closer to hear how...

Valentine's Day tends to evoke a variety of emotions and reactions depending on life circumstances, experiences, relationship status, etc, all of which primarily center around the idea of "love". Some people love it, some hate...

It's that time of year... new beginnings and excitement about trying new things (or old things, for that matter). You're pumped. You're ready to tackle that thing you've been waiting all of last year...

Last Thanksgiving I felt that a boulder sat on my chest as we gathered with friends to share what we were thankful for. We had recently learned that my husband would deploy very last...