military marriage - Mission: Milspouse

Thanks to Video Chatting

by Angie Andrews | Sep 6, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Military Life, OCONUS

While re-reading my previous post, I keep coming back to the, “You should have seen my face!” exclamation and subsequent wordy explanation of how I did see my own face—thanks to video chatting.

Lately, I have been thinking how thankful I am for video chats. Guessing I am not the only one with an increased participation in video calls, I got a little curious about the history of them.

A recent Time magazine article shared some insight into the history of video calling and how this technology took much longer than anticipated to actually take off.

The Hike That Was Worth It

by Retired Blogger | Aug 28, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Household 6, Military Life

He told me we were just going on a “little” walk. It wouldn’t take that long. We’d be back in plenty of time for the sit-down dinner at the cute, little Italian restaurant in Aspen, Colorado that we had reservations for. But at the look of how things were going, that didn’t seem likely. I was halfway up a huge mountain, so exhausted, and just wanted to be done.

My husband and I were enjoying a much-needed weekend in Aspen thanks to an Army-sponsored Strong Bonds retreat. (If you’ve never attended a Strong Bonds weekend, I highly suggest going!) We were in between sessions, and my adventurous, pilot husband decided it would fun to do a “little hike” before the dinner session started.

Seeking Spouses for a Life Less Ordinary

by Kathleen Palmer | Aug 9, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Military Life

Author’s note: This post is dedicated to all the Army spouses who hesitate when someone asks the loaded, complicated question, “And what do you do?”

Those four little words can have a big impact on our psyche. It even prompted an Army wife in Great Britain to create an exhibit, “Not Just a Wife,” filled with creative art and testimonies from army spouses married to British service members.

“Not just a wife.” Four more impactful words loaded with untapped emotion, frustration, and pride.

It triggered a thought wave for me about recruitment slogans and which ones (if any) would be effective in recruiting spouses to marry into the Army. Bear with me, I was alone in my car with nothing but my thoughts for about four days and I became obssessed rather quickly.

Taking Care of Business: A Celebration of Deployment Victories

by Retired Blogger | Jul 28, 2020 | Blog, Deployment, Experience, Household 6

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.

AWTR Show #749: 3 Tips for Marriage Communication

by M:M Command Team | Jul 16, 2020 | Podcast

Hello, listeners! Join Command Team Member Anika as she talks about 3 tips to improve communication in marriage.

He Still Gives Me Butterflies

by Retired Blogger | Jul 11, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Household 6, Relationships

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.

Isle of View

by Anna Larson | Jul 1, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Military Life, Relationships

My grandparents are adorable.

Grandpa had a big smile and loved overalls, living a country life, and Boy Scouts of America.

Grandma was an archeologist that participated in numerous digs in South America and the southern United States. She barely reached 5 feet tall and would stretch on her tippy toes and eventually had to climb onto a step stool to mark how tall each of her 60 grandchildren had gotten when we came to visit.

At some point in their love story, they coined the phrase, “Isle of View.”

For Better or Worse: The Importance of Being Your Spouse’s #1 Fan

by Retired Blogger | Jun 27, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Military Life, Relationships

Marriage is hard work. Then throw in the fact that your spouse serves in the military. The hard work factor just jumped up a few levels.

Can I get an amen?

My husband and I are going on almost 16 years of marriage, with all of them being within the context of the Army. We certainly don’t have it all figured out, nor do we have a perfect marriage, but over the years we have discovered some core values that we implement in our marriage that help us weather the stress of all that life throws at us. You can read about the top five things that I do to best support my husband and keep our marriage strong in this blog post.

In this post, I am going to delve a little deeper into the importance of being your spouse’s #1 fan.

Supporting Our Troops: How to Respond When Someone Doesn’t

by Retired Blogger | Mar 27, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Household 6, Military Life

Before I met my husband, James, I had no connection to military life beyond my grandfathers who both served in WWII. In my world, the military was a foreign, invasive force that attracted only those who sought out and enjoyed violence.

It wasn’t just the US military. I felt this way about all those who I believed chose war—otherwise, why choose to be in the service?

In those initial months dating James, I had so many questions. I could not put together the idea of this tremendously kind, gentle, compassionate man who I was getting to know to be the same person who I would have assumed to choose violence and anger before anything else. Needless to say, this was the early part of my journey of transformation in my beliefs about military service—where I can now stand by my husband with pride as he serves our country, and I feel honored to be a military spouse.