Did you know… Mission: Milspouse published its 3000th blog post in 2023 and is still growing!
Leaving the Place You Conquered
We weren’t at that particular installation long. Just long enough to move in, for my husband to then be given unexpected orders to deploy for twelve months, and a couple of months after his return, we were on our way out.
Go Away, Murphy
We all know him. He comes around every time our spouse steps out the door. And no, I’m not talking about the Amazon Prime guy (or gal) delivering your secret purchases.
No, I’m talking about someone much scarier. He goes by Murphy. Murphy’s Law of whatever can go wrong will go wrong.
As soon as your spouse steps out the door. Maybe he’s leaving for just an overnight live-fire. Possibly, it’s an even longer trip to the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, CA. Murphy doesn’t care the reason, he shows up regardless. Seriously, my husband has hardly ever been home when one of my children decided to explode with vomit. It has literally happened as soon as he has stepped out the door. My motto in life is to laugh through it all, so sit back and enjoy some of my finest Murphy’s Law moments.
The Sweetest Cheesecake
Thanksgiving this year turned out to be a first on a few levels. More than 7,000 miles away from the United States—definitely a first. Being the only female at our gathering—a first, except for the few years when it was only my husband and me having a two-person Thanksgiving. Only one person eating dessert before heading home—um, yes, possibly a first at all Thanksgiving gatherings that ever occurred everywhere.
All firsts aside, it was a memorable Thanksgiving.
We shared our home and meal with five soldiers, plus one stuck at the office on shift.
Our guests were all still living the barracks life, and so I seriously was not expecting anyone to bring anything besides their appetites. So, I was surprised to find out that one was planning to bring a cake!
Plotting a Course to Gratitude
You know those people who always seem to find something to complain about?
You know those people who always seem to find something positive in every situation?
Maybe you’re one of them—quick to catastrophize or let a moment turn into a bad day or always encouraging others to find good. Perhaps you have the patience of Job.
Did you know that our thoughts literally wire our brains? They create connections as synapses form—perhaps they start off like deer trails in the underbrush, difficult to see and follow, but before you know it, if you don’t guard your thoughts, that path has become a newly opened toll road and you have an express pass, quickly getting you from Point A to Point B.
But is it worth the cost?
Effective Leadership: The Art of Mentoring
If you were able to apply any of the previous information to your current leadership role, we encourage you to take your leadership abilities one step further and explore the art of mentorship.
A mentor is a trusted person who advises and serves as a role model in a specific field of expertise. The purpose of a mentor is to develop, encourage, and allow the mentee to achieve their goals with their mentor’s support.
Have you ever been given the opportunity to be mentored? If so, think back to how the relationship began. Did you grow and bloom as an individual with your mentor’s guidance?
I’ve had several mentors throughout my life—professional mentors and life mentors.
Stopping Father Time
Most hospitals have a certain smell to them. I think it’s a combination of bleach, sweat, blood, and tears.
Did you know that the sense of smell is the strongest of the five senses connected to memory? So, maybe as I walk through the hospital I’m reminded of my own personal and frequent time spent in the hospital as a child, then later in life due to procedures related to my endometriosis and as a mother giving birth.
Today, was not about me though. It was about a family member who had cancer removed from his body. A family member who was given that ugly diagnosis of cancer several months earlier.
Ginger Ale Thanksgivings
The holiday season is upon us! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, filled with the usual hustle and bustle, shopping and music, food and demands to get busy, plays and programs and recitals—have all suddenly exploded onto the scenes of our already hectic lives.
It’s such an amazing time of year, loved by many. But for others, it’s also an emotional time filled with ups and downs. Feelings of sadness tend to creep up on us as we reminisce on days passed and loved ones we wish could still be with us.
I’ve been an Army wife for nearly nine years, and I have three young sons. A sense of longing for far-away family always fights for my attention in the midst of the holiday business—a longing to live closer to grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles, and to always be able to spend these times with them.
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