One of the most important parts of supporting your service member as they serve our country is “holding down the fort” (See also: running a smooth, loving, and supportive home life for you and your family, while keeping all things going in your service member’s absence). Easy peasy, right? Sometimes, not so much.
With this category, we cover everything behind the scenes, such as organization, communication, marriage, parenting, overcoming trials, and just some good ole fashioned humor.
Join us as we embark on figuring out the home-life balance as a milspouse and find ways to thrive and excel! No matter what your life at home looks like, one of our Experience Bloggers or Command Team members has probably been in a similar situation and is here to share their triumphs, lessons, and laughs along the way.
Are you experiencing thoughts of anxiety, guilt, worry, doubt, uncertainty, or all of the above concerning the upcoming school year? Are you singing the new school year blues? Join the crowd because wading through the information, news, and daily COVID-19 numbers are enough to drive anyone to madness especially when it concerns sending our children back to school in this ever-uncertain environment we’ve been stuck in for the past several months.
A new friend and fellow milspouse just embarked on her first deployment, and she was telling me about some things she had successfully accomplished while her husband was gone.
As she accomplishes a task that perhaps her husband would have normally taken care of, she gives herself an imaginary pat on the back, takes a picture, and sends it to her husband with the hashtag #takingcareofbusiness. It’s become a cute way for her to share what’s going on day to day, build her confidence that she can do this, and also remind her husband that she’s doing just fine.
I thought it was such a great idea, so it got me thinking about the last 16 years of Army wife life and all the unique skills that I have developed, thanks to those Army-ordered times of separation.
A few weeks ago, my friend suggested that I take the Enneagram Test. I was all for it, since I love taking personality tests, like Strength Finder 2.0, Myers-Briggs, The 5 Love Languages, etc.
After fifteen minutes of taking the test, I had my results. I am 95% a number 1, which means being a perfectionist or the “good girl.” Honestly, I did not like my results, especially since the reason I am the way I am is mostly based on my childhood and trying to be the good girl.
My friend tried to explain to me that this is the reason why I am doing the things I am. For example, being a people pleaser (I am slowly learning to stand up for what is right and that it is OK not to please everyone).
At the end of last month, my husband and I happily celebrated our 11th anniversary together with a long weekend away.
Yup, even with four small children at home, we find ways to make time for each other to keep our friendship and relationship strong. The moments we get to sneak away are not nearly as frequent as they used to be, but I cherish each one. From random nights we stay up after the kids have gone to bed to play cards, or when I decide to take an interest in one of his newest hobbies to watch the excited child inside of him show between the cracks of daily life.
Daring the skies to open up on me today was the most fun I have had checking the mail, possibly ever. I knew it was going to rain. Didn’t have to be a genius to figure that one out based on the sky and the fact that it’s the rainy season—ahem, rainy half of the year—here in Okinawa.
I stood in my closet and picked out appropriate clothing.
To check the mail?
Yes.
Is this girl really writing about checking the mail? Like there is something to say about that?
Yes. Yes, I am.
My husband recently returned from a deployment. During that time I found myself enjoying a new schedule and a few new habits. At nigh,t after I put my two children to bed, if I didn’t have work to do, I would enjoy a cup of coffee, a not so healthy snack, and pick a movie that would inevitably make me cry.
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