Deployment

There is one thing I know definitively; you are pregnant for nine months for a reason. For those of you who have been pregnant, consider all the thoughts that began to go through your mind the moment that pregnancy was...

As a military spouse, your service member is likely away for periods of time. Whether it’s months or weeks, this time can leave you feeling lonely. It can likely make you feel all kinds of things. Sad, annoyed, frustrated,...

Five weeks. My husband was home for a measly five weeks when he got orders for his next deployment. That marked four deployments within six years. Our world would be flipped upside down, once again.  I was already constructing the...

When I fell for him in college -- his feet were bare, he had a beard and a crazy mop of hair – I never dreamed he’d become a doctor, much less a doctor in the Army. So when...

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 minute, and I had little...

I recently attended a friend’s wedding in Berkeley, California. It was small outdoor ceremony overlooking a lush park. The bride and groom vowed their love to one another under an archway of greenery. Every time I hear a couple...

April is month of the military child! As a certified child life specialist (CCLS) I use play and bibliotherapy to help children cope with stressful medical situations. This can absolutely be applied to the military connected community when helping children...

Every so often in life, you get to a duty station and you find a tribe that makes your time there so, so easy. You support each other through life's hard moments and cheer them on when life gives...

By some miracle, the house is quiet. My daughter sleeps hard as the shades in her windows block out the afternoon sun. In the room next door, I hold my son close, dancing him to sleep while Audrey Hepburn...

If you’re anything like me, self-care is something that often gets pushed into the ‘nice to do’ pile rather than ‘must do.  This is especially true during deployments but I often find it slipping at other times too.  One...

On December 6, 2018, my husband burst through our front door much earlier than I was expecting him. He had been on duty all night, and I had not seen or heard from him since the day before. He...

"See you laters" are an integral part of this military lifestyle that we've chosen. I made peace with that long ago, when I said "I do" and then "see you later" as my husband left for a six-month deployment. We...