A Fond Farewell From Rachel + Amie

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Amie + Rachel on a blue and pink watercolor background with "A Fond Farewell from Rachel + Amie" in text

Military spouses hate the word “goodbye.” It commands many negative thoughts, memories, and emotions that we tend to mask it with other terms and phrases. “Goodbye for now” or “See ya later, not goodbye” come to mind; military life forces us to new places and things, and we try to avoid that dreaded G word as we process all the changes.

So instead of goodbye, Amie and I are bidding a fond farewell as the co-owners of The Military Mom Collective.

This community started out as a moms blog. Literally, we were Military Moms Blog! Our founders brought together military spouses from all over the world, with the goal of sharing experiences and resources to all military moms. We all knew one another in a very military fashion, over Zoom and through social media. We occasionally met one another in person when life allowed, but we all connected through our words and shared experiences in military life.

Amie and I were original contributors for this team, meeting for the first time over a Zoom book club meeting. In late 2019, the opportunity to take over as co-owners of this site presented itself. We took a leap and poured our strengths into our new partnership, working out the details between Florida and Hawaii, and officially took over in November 2019.

Amie + Rachel on a blue and pink watercolor background with "A Fond Farewell from Rachel + Amie" in textWe had one goal: to keep building this into a worldwide community for all military families.

Despite challenges (a worldwide pandemic just months after starting the business!), military moves, deployments, and personal challenges, I think we succeeded in our goal.

We grew our team and brought on more diverse voices and experiences. We pivoted and hosted events virtually at a time when we all needed connection. We partnered with amazing companies and businesses to support entrepreneurs in our military community. But most importantly, we stayed true to our goal and brought connection, information, and representation to and for our military community.

There is never an easy way to say goodbye. When is the right time to move on? How do you let go of something that you are so proud of? Did we do enough? We may never truly know the answer to these questions. But as our lives have grown and changed, it was time to hand over the reins to another military spouse. It was time to say goodbye.

We are incredibly grateful and proud of our writing team, who continues to pour their heart and soul into every word you see on your screens. These are strong, creative, and talented military spouses that continue to share our mission. None of this is possible without them.

Finally, we offer a huge thanks to all who believe in our mission and this community. It really does take a village to live as a military family, and The Military Mom Collective is our village that continues to provide us with support, love, and guidance.

A fond farewell from Amie and I…thank you for everything in the past 2.5 years and for your continued support of our new leader, Taylor!

Rachel Carpenter

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Rachel Carpenter
Rachel has been an Air Force spouse for 17 years. Her husband's career had taken them to many assignments around the world, and she currently lives in Hawaii. She is a mother of four children; their ages range from fifteen to four years old, so her life is often exciting and challenging. She holds a BA in English and a MA in Management. When not busy with work or her family, she enjoys volunteering within the military community and has even been a Key Spouse at two stations. Rachel has always enjoyed writing and literature, and she is happy to find this community to combine these interests. She has been featured on We Are The Mighty, Her View From Home, AMSE, The Beautifull Project, Hand-in-Hand QC, and other publications - but The Military Mom Collective is her home. :)

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