Did you know… Mission: Milspouse published its 3000th blog post in 2023 and is still growing!
With Love from a Gen X Spouse
This week, two seemingly unrelated things caught my attention on social media. The first was the “Gen X uprising” on TikTok.
Thank You, Mom
Dear, Mom:
Mom, we talk nearly daily despite the time difference, and you are always there to pick up the phone. I don’t think I have actually ever told you what you mean to me, so I would like to say thank you. And since I can’t be with you in person, I hope my words can be enough for now.
We See Each Other, and That is Enough
When I started to write this article in honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, I honestly was not sure where I wanted to go with it. I “crowdsourced” a bit to find out what the expectations were from groups of military spouses, and I received answers that ranged from “I didn’t even know there was such a day,” to “My husband gives me a spa day every year.”
(Yes, there is always one spouse getting a spa day. Let’s try to not hate her.)
But, as I dove deeper into the meaning of the day and read articles about the day’s origin (Thank you, President Reagan!) and past celebrations, I was led to ask a very important question.
Who do we really want to appreciate us on May 8?
Make-Them-Because-of-Mom Food Ideas
Growing up, my family was one that had dinner together at the table with the TV turned off, usually at the same time each night without fail. On Sundays, we had a big lunch at the table instead of dinners. I’m sure we went out to dinner, ordered pizza, or picked up sandwiches from time to time, but we were still almost always there together at the table, eating together.
I think we all know that Mom is the one to thank for this routine. I have no idea if we showed her gratitude at every meal, and this is reality, so I’m going to guess we didn’t. I do know that I treasure this family mealtime around our table in memory and retrospect.
We always took Mom out for a nice sit-down restaurant meal on Mother’s Day.
Ready, Set, Travel!
There’s an old saying in real estate. Location, location, location.
When you arrived at your current duty station, you and your spouse went house hunting to buy or rent and understood the importance of location. Location to schools, location to parks, and location to post.
News 6 Mashup: April 27, 2020
Here are the top stories for the week of April 6, 2020, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:
• Military Extends Travel Ban to June 30, 2020
* Voting By Mail Not New for US Military—Can it be Implemented Across the Nation?
* National Museum of United States Army Delays Opening
* 97-Year-Old Veteran Shows Off Moves
I’m Not a Perfect Parent (and Neither are You)
Recently, my 6-year-old had a homework assignment about creating a chain reaction. We drafted our plan using sketches of how we would set up dominoes to fall over various surfaces before launching a car through a loop-de-loop. We spent hours setting up dominoes, knocking them down by accident, and starting over. Finally, everything was in position and still standing despite two younger siblings “helping.”
My 6-year-old got into position and gently tipped the first domino. We watched them fall, hearing a satisfying clink as each domino made contact with the one in front of it.
Finally, the last domino began to fall. It tapped the car, and…
Nothing.
Hours of trying to make it work and it didn’t.
My daughter was upset, and honestly, we might have been overly ambitious.
That experiment got me thinking about our current struggles as parents.
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