Many of us can recall the unique set of challenges that affect our daily lives from big moves, to deployments and homecomings, or even processing grief. The idea of being “prepared” can feel unattainable when life is encompassed by change and uncertainty. To help overcome these obstacles Sesame Workshop has created resources to prepare families and help them remain flexible in turbulent times. They have incorporated realistic and approachable models to help parents and children process “big feelings” together.

In the research process for developing their videos, Sesame Workshop reached out to military communities, caregivers, and providers. They received a lot of feedback and discovered gaps in research and approaches for modeling good behavior with children. In response they developed specific methods that make talking through challenges in military families playful and engaging.

Tara Wright serves as Senior Manager of Content Design in the U.S. Social Impact department at Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind the beloved children’s show, Sesame Street. In her work at Sesame, Tara creates engaging content for young children and families, as well as practical, approachable tools for the providers who serve them–all with the goal to help nurture smarter, stronger, and kinder communities. While always backed by research and on-the-ground expertise, her writing often also draws on her roles as Marine Corps wife and mama to three boys under five.

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about Sesame Workshop, you can find our more by clicking here or connect with them on social media via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Resource Recon with Kayla and Lindsey

One of the blogs we recently posted was called “The Frozen girl from the south” by Claire Schwartz and it is about, you guessed it, a military spouse leaving her warm comfort in the south to move to frigid Alaska. She writes,

“Do I know what the journey to Alaska holds for my family? Absolutely not. However, I can’t wait for this southern girl to find out. 

The military has many obstacles, but a lot of that is building you as a person. I’ve been learning as a new military wife you have to be open minded, you can never plan a single thing, and you have to be just as dedicated to serving this country as your spouse.”

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda

Today we are spotlighting our MRE team winner, which by the way, MRE stands for Motivated and Ready to Empower, Lindsey Rauch!

A little about Lindsey is she is a madly in love army wife to her husband, Matt. A proud mom to her six month old son, Malachi. A dog mama to a huskie, collie mix and a business owner. Lindsey has her MS in family marriage therapy and MS in mental health and wellness for family and marriage dynamics from Grand Canyon University. She is also a speaker, blogger, mentor, and motivator.

Lindsey’s husband joined the military after five years of being married as a civilian family, so she has a heart for new military spouses who feel completely lost or foreign to military life. Additionally, she has a heart for  military families with sick children as she has struggled through the isolation of being at a foreign post in a new city, trying to find support and the best health care for her child. She is now known as the military NICU mama. In her free time you can find her sipping on a good cup of tea, reading a book, being active, exploring the great outdoors, fishing, writing, or traveling the globe.

Lindsey, we thank you for your service in honoring our mission and for doing your part to empower families around the world.

Moxie Minute with Amie

Our Moxie word of the day is, tenacity, which is defined as the quality of being able to grip something firmly, being very determined, and continuing to exist. Tenacity is a quality that has been exemplified by many remarkable women in history. It’s the ability to persist in the face of obstacles and to keep pushing forward despite the odds.

I heard a chaplain recently say a firm grip isn’t drift. If we have a firm grip on our lives, our spouses, our families, our own circle of control we can remember that the craziness of military life is just a part of the bigger picture and not the whole of who we are. So for any spouse that thinks they might not have enough to put on your resume, think about the leadership skills, management, and communication skills involved in our daily lives and what could be accomplished if we put them to use in our communities, careers, or future endeavors. So as an essential quality for our military spouses, resilience, and determination we are an integral part of the military community and a shining example of what it means to be tenacious.

Another example is shown by Rosemary Williams, a Marine spouse with a 22 year career as a journalist. She became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for military community and family policy and is still a major advocate for military spouses today. She once said ” I learned the value of being tenacious. It takes grit and determination to make it through the tough times, but it’s worth it.”.

Let this serve as a reminder that you too can make it through the tough times and be an example for other as well. Ok everyone, until next week, Moxie Up!

News 6 with Emma

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of February 27, 2023, straight from M:M News 6 Correspondent, Emma Tighe:

Super DOD Addresses Military Spouse Food Insecurity

 A survey administered by the Department of Defense given to military spouses came back with concerning results regarding food insecurity. The survey revealed that one out of four spouses had experienced food insecurity, but only 3 percent used benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) .The survey also addressed  topics like spouse employment, PCS moves, financial health, child care and satisfaction with military life.

The military is taking steps to address the ever growing concern of food insecurity. This includes the newly congressionally mandated Basic Need Allowance, a monthly allowance designed to help keep food on the table for military families struggling with food insecurity. To be eligible for this allowance you must be an active duty service member with dependents whose gross household income and household size put them below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines for their geographical location.

Here’s to the military tackling this all important issue head on! Everyone deserves a seat and a meal at the table, especially our military families.

Find out more at militarytimes.com

Super Marines Share Kidney and Superbowl

John Gladwell and Billy Welsh met each other around 20 years ago during their time in the Marines. They stayed in touch and checked in from time to time. That all changed when in 2019 Billy made a Facebook post explaining that he had polycystic kidney disease and desperately needed a kidney donor. John answered the call and his kidney turned out to be a perfect match. Gladwell flew to Philadelphia where they endured a 10 hour procedure that was completed successfully.

While the buddies have a vital organ in common they have one difference that came to play big time this year. John is a KC chiefs fan and Billy is an Eagles fan. Word got around about their inspiring friendship and good hearted rivalry. So much so it caught the ear of Eagles President Don Smolenski and his Chiefs counterpart Mark Donovan. They pulled together to get the marine buddies an all expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl, including side by side tickets. While football is America’s game, sacrifice and bravery is the calling of our military heroes. Hope you enjoyed the game fellas! Sorry about the loss Billy! Your team may have lost but you have a brother for life!

Find out more at Marinecorpstimes.com

New Program Means New Career Prospects for Overseas Spouses

The Navy and Air Force are leading the way for overseas spouses to acquire DOD jobs more quickly. This new direct hire authority will cut through some the red tape that slows down the hiring process, hopefully shaving two weeks from applying to hiring. Many DOD organizations already prioritize spouses in their hiring process, but it can still be quite a lengthy process. With overseas spousal unemployment rates of 21 percent, these two branches are hoping to simplify the process.

“We recognize that spouse employment is a fundamental quality of life issue for our airmen and guardians, especially for families in overseas locations,” said John Carbone, director for civilian force management for Air Force Manpower, Personnel and Services, at the announcement of the pilot program. “We’re hoping having access to this new hiring authority will open up greater opportunities for spouses, which in turn will positively impact military retention, the financial well-being of the family, and Department of the Air Force readiness.”

The program was authorized by congress in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The Defense Commissary Agency (DACA) and the Department of Defense Education Agency (DODEA) are two organizations that are already jumping on this program and implementing it into action.

Find out more at militarytimes.com

You can check out more of this week’s top stories here.

Thank You

Thank you for tuning into this week’s episode. Please leave a five-star rating and review on Apple podcasts, then send us a screenshot of your review to hello@missionmilspouse.org or DM us on Facebook or Instagram @missionmilspouse to receive a special in-real-life gift as a thank you on behalf of MM. We appreciate your engagement and support.

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