Did you know… Mission: Milspouse published its 3000th blog post in 2023 and is still growing!
What is the Meaning Behind the 13 Folds of the U.S. Flag?
The flag-folding ceremony represents the same religious principles on which the United States was originally founded.
11 Self Care Ideas for Military Spouses (When Everyone’s at Home!)
Self-care doesn’t always come easy for military spouses. We tend to put other people’s needs above our own, rarely taking the time to do what refuels us. Say goodbye to that, though, because the days of neglecting self-care are gone. Now, more than ever, we need to take care of us. Yes, others too, but also ourselves.
Why?
COVID times are hard. Military spouse life is hard. Solo-parenting? Also hard. And if we’re going to conquer these crazy times, then we’d better practice a little self-care.
But how?
Thank-You Notes and Beyond
How many of you have had such great intentions after leaving dinner at a commander’s home, or after a friend sent you flowers when you were ill, to send that person a thank-you note? I am fairly confident we have all been there! Protocol books, like The Army Spouse Handbook (pages 115-120), all suggest to do so in a timely fashion, within a few days. I know for me, sometimes it was weeks later, and I began to really stress about my lack of getting it into the mailbox!
A Strange Season of See Ya Laters
My family would have PCS’d this summer if we were on our normal schedule. But what is “normal” this year anyway? The coronavirus swept over our world, leaving us with uncertainty and quickly grasping for a new normal. Plans we have all had over the past several months have been unraveled. We have postponed, rescheduled, all out cancelled, and been ever flexible with our activities, events, vacations, and PCS orders. A military life forces us to be flexible and deal with last minute changes somewhat gracefully. But this year?
This year…well, it is a whole new drill for us all.
The Power of the Military Spouse Tribe
Seth Godin once said: “A group needs two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
Which makes the United States military family perhaps the largest, most caring, and most diverse tribe in the world, particularly military spouses. Sure, the military may drop you hundreds or even thousands of miles away from your home and family, but they do a really great job of surrounding you with a new one.
This large, extended military family is your tribe, and I encourage you to love them fiercely. And
understand, they will love you back.
Here’s How Homefront Pumps Can Meet Your Breastfeeding Needs
I can vividly remember those first feelings of excitement, confusion, panic, and overwhelming joy when I first found out I was pregnant. I was the wife of a junior enlisted service member who had just returned from his first deployment to Iraq, and this was exactly what we wanted after a year of chaos. Our future might be uncertain and our time in the military might be unclear, but our family path was carving itself out and we couldn’t be happier.
For some of you, this might be your first baby, your third, or maybe you are further along on your journey to gathering your family together. Maybe you’re doing this without your partner nearby, maybe your family is close or maybe they are hundreds of miles away. One thing is for certain: you don’t have to be alone. There are many resources available to support you, including when you’ve made the decision to breastfeed or pump for your baby.
News 6 Mashup: Sept. 21, 2020
Here are the top stories for the week of Sept. 21, 2020, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:
• First Living Delta Force Medal of Honor Recipient
• Department of Veterans Affairs Improving Veterans’ Experience
• Army Veteran Uses YouTube to Learn Math
• This Week in History
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