There may be no better time for empowerment than when faced with a looming deployment or when you are in the thick of one.
Join our Mission: Milspouse team as we share all our tips, lessons learned, best practices for coping, and our hearts in solidarity with you in all things deployment. Whether you are preparing for your first one or you navigating your 7th, we have the resources you need to thrive in one of the most challenging aspects of milspouse life.
Our resources span the gamut: From that first moment when your service member says “I’ve got news,” to establishing a battle rhythm in those first few weeks, to parenting solo, and to reintegrating after that homecoming kiss… We have resources to guide you every step of the way. We are raw, vulnerable, experienced, and ready to support you through this season!
Many people believe that the most magical time of year is Christmas, which seems to start a week earlier every year. Especially during deployments where you feel a little less jolly. And by a little less jolly, I mean l almost dropkicked a lighted snowman display across Target because I heard Josh Groban’s version of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” one too many times this holiday season. I refrained, however, because I didn’t want to spill my venti peppermint mocha.
I’m not a monster.
Yep, it’s true. Deployments are one of the hardest (and lamest!) parts of military spouse life.
But in true milspouse fashion, we don’t have time to wallow in the challenge. Sure, we can give ourselves permission to feel bummed out about it, but we just can’t park there for too long. After all, our kids need to be fed and stuff, so we have to actually do the things.
For the most part, milspouse life is pretty great. There’s new adventures, great people, lessons to learn, places to see, things to do… But of course, it isn’t all roses, sunshine, and puppy dog tails. In my personal opinion, one of the most uncool parts of military life are those pesky see-ya-laters that crop up when facing a TDY or deployment.
“I can’t wait to be home.”
This was the text I received from my husband earlier today, about six months into our most recent deployment.
The funny thing is, he won’t be coming home to a place he knows. I’m packing our kids and saying goodbye to my family, moving across the country, and unpacking all our things in a house he’s never seen, nor I for that matter, on a base we haven’t lived before.
When we were stationed at Fort Drum about five years ago I had this gnawing sadness about my kids.
We were there for a total of three years, and between training exercises, deployments, schools, and selections, our family unit only spent nine months together. And that’s not nine months consecutively, but nine months hodge-podge total.
During my husband’s past four deployments and other various Army separations, the thing that has kept us connected the most is music. From CDs to Spotify accounts, our methods have changed, but the tradition has not.
He makes a playlist, I make a playlist, and we exchange them and it keeps us going while he is away. This article will be short and to the point, and will be all about highlighting our go-to going away favorites. Give a listen and pair them with a good tub of Ben and Jerrys or some Chardonnay. Enjoy!
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