Deployment

There are things in life to look forward to with eager anticipation; a deployment is not one of them.   For us, the dreaded deployment is underway and with each new document, training or additional uniform, there's greater awareness that the date is...

Christmas is quickly approaching, and if you're anything like me then you're now entering panic mode. Between Christmas shopping and budgeting and planning a holiday menu, you're probably feeling pretty wiped out already.  Here Comes the Holidays ... and the stress. Moms...

The first time I remember my dad being gone was during a year-long deployment to South Korea when I was in the second grade. Video calling software was not commonly available during that time, so my dad typically called...

If you ask me how I feel about my husband’s deployment, it might be a curse-laden rant about him being gone for nearly the first ten months of our daughter’s life. But most of the time I look back...

I was 18 years old the first time I moved away from home. And it changed me. I learned how to live with another female. As a girl with only brothers, this was a big one. Thankfully, I was lucky enough...

Surviving deployments and even extended TDYs can take a lot out of everyone. The emotional roller coaster leading up to the goodbye; manning the day to day, day after day; the unexpected; and even prepping for the homecoming is a lot...

All it takes is one preggo brain, three littles scurrying around at your feet, and a deployed spouse (or any one of those things) to make meal planning an incredulous activity (err, chore). Most parents I know hate meal planning...

I met one of my new neighbors while out for a walk one morning. Well into her nineties, she was out working in her garden. I introduced myself and told her how much I admired her beautiful flowers, particularly...

Being a military kid is hard! You might not have a lot of choice in where you live or what you do. There are deployments, PCS moves, a loss of friends, a change in schools (sometimes mid-year), confusion ......

In the words of Beyoncé, “All the single ladies, all the single ladies, now put your hands up!” Except in our case, he liked it, he put a ring on it, and he reproduced it. Then duty called. And he was...

There are three little words that I’ve finally started to pay more attention to in my 40s. The truth is I’ve said them many times during the past two decades of adult life. What are they? Must Be Nice. As in,...

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...