May 14, 2008|
When the Dark Prince left for the sandbox, he left such a mess of dirty/clean clothing, etc., in his room and car that Lancelot and I practiced avoidance for a period of time. The Light twin came home last week and as part of my Mother's Day present, helped me clean out his room.
U-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e!!!!!!!!
May 14, 2008|
1. President Honors Military Spouses at White House Event
2. New Video Explains Interstate Compact
3. Senate Passes Veterans' Benefit Legislation
4. Second Annual GI Film Festival Opens
5. AAFES Sponsors Contest Saluting Military Spouses
6. Summer Workshop Registration Now Open To Teachers
May 13, 2008|
Every human being on the planet experiences some level of depression, anxiety, and stress. Like I said, it's a force of nature and a fact of life. As a mental health therapist I treat people every day with one or all of these diagnoses. And I, myself, have experienced these and also gone to a therapist. As a graduate student our professors always told us, "Therapists need therapists, too." We're human.
As military spouses we often face challenges that leave our heads spinning. Like we're on a roller-coaster that NEVER ENDS!
So how do you know if/when to seek help? Well, it's different for everyone, to be honest. My suggestion is this: read the common symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress that I have written below. Do a "self-assessment" - i.e. if you have more than a few of the symptoms and these symptoms are affecting you daily life, I would suggest seeking help. Trust me, it NEVER hurts to seek help. I have done it myself and my therapist was wonderful and very helpful.
May 13, 2008|
SpouseBUZZ is all about connecting with one another and sharing our collective "married to the military" experiences. We've updated the long list of milspouse bloggers that we've managed to gather from previous posts. Plus, additional links that you've sent our way have been added. You may find that there are some spouse blogs you can relate to more than others, so browse the links and try to find a battle buddy (or twenty). Sit back, click and connect.
And a reminder, this fall will bring three opportunities to connect live and in person with hundreds of other milspouses.
Click "continue reading" for the list of milspouse bloggers (in no particular order). If we've missed a blog that should be added to the list, please list it in the comment section and I'll add the link to this post.
May 13, 2008|
We've all had some great opportunities to attend one of the rights of passage for many people in uniform, the Change of Command. Even though that is a specific event and denotes UCMJ authority, we've all seen the passing of the flag, the hand-over of the baton, ... the passing of the brain-book, from the out-going to the in-coming. Shop level, platoon level, company or squadron, and higher. Some with flair, some over a cup of hot coffee. Always though, it's the transfer of "I tried to do my best" to the "it's now your turn to try your best, to better it yet still."
Okay -- the mental image is set. You with me?
May 13, 2008|
May 12, 2008|
Ok, I'm tired, I'm grumpy, I'm frustrated - and in need of a SpouseBUZZ vent!
Mother's Day in the life of a 'special needs' mom is always interesting. Yesterday was no exception! I feel for special needs moms. They carry the weight of the world on their shoulders . I don't consider myself worthy of this title anymore, as we've passed the chemo stage of life and are just 'orthopedically challenged' at this point. But it seems like there's always something popping up - or in this case leaking out!
May 12, 2008|
I've had some very interesting conversations lately. Air Force Guy is not getting ready for a deployment right now (as if anything is ever set in stone in this lifestyle), but we do know that he will be spending the rest of the year TDY.
This is the first time we've had an extended TDY that is not a deployment while living in a civilian community. And the results and explanations coming out of this have been very interesting, to say the least.
May 12, 2008|
Yesterday, I was talking with my neighbor and she asked if we would be staying here another year. It must have seemed strange to her that recently my husband and I were out planting flowers, just weeks before we're set to move. And we weren't planting annuals, but perennials. But it wasn't strange to us. First of all, I love to work in the yard, but that's not really why we were planting perennials. Excluding the apartments we've lived in during our military marriage (because there was no yard), we've lived in seven houses. I've planted perennials of various sorts in the yards of all but one of those houses.
I remember driving through Georgia several years ago and taking a detour through the old neighborhood just to look at the azalea bushes we had planted long ago. They were still there, and were in full bloom. I couldn't believe how much they had grown. Planting something permanent where we live is just one way to leave our mark on the many places we've called home. It's the modern-day military version of scrawling, "Andi was here" on a textbook, or bathroom stall (not that I would know anything about that, mom).
If we ever make our way back here again, I hope to see some large, healthy Rhododendrons in full bloom. And I'll look at my husband and say, "remember years ago when we planted those Rhododendrons?" And if we ever make our way back to Kansas (the one place where I didn't plant a perennial), I wonder if the tenants would find it strange if I pulled into the driveway with a trunk full of plants and did a little gardening?
May 11, 2008|
Terrific News!
SOLDIERS’ ANGELS FOUNDER WINS!
Patti Patton Bader Named “America’s Favorite Mom”PASADENA, CA May 11, 2008 –Soldiers’ Angels founder Patti Patton Bader was named “America’s Favorite Mom” in a primetime television show Sunday night on NBC. Sponsored by Teleflora and hosted by Donnie and Marie Osmond, the show highlighted fifteen outstanding mothers who had distinguished themselves in categories ranging from Working Moms to Military Moms and “Non-Mom” Moms.
Humbled by the honor, Bader is thrilled to be able to use it to continue the Soldiers’ Angels mission of “May No Soldier Go Unloved.” As the grand prize winner, she will receive $250,000, a set of household appliances, and other valuable items. Bader hopes to apply the winnings to her plans for a small ranch that will allow newly returned soldiers to relax with their families after deployments.
“I really am lucky to know so many heroes in my life,” said Bader, who herself has two sons in the Army, one currently deployed to Iraq. “Whether they are the troops who serve our country or the amazing mothers here on this America’s Favorite Mom program, I am honored to be in the presence of such inspirational people and also am humbled to know that America thinks the same of me.”
Bader is also excited about the opportunities this platform gives her to help people learn more about America’s military heroes and options for supporting them and their families. The attention she has received through the America’s Favorite Mom events has already drawn a number of new volunteers who want to use their talents and connections to help support the troops.
May 11, 2008|
The other day, I wrote about the silver linings to deployment. On the flip side, I've already come up with what I think is perhaps the worst thing about deployment: one-way communication.
When something really, really good or really, really bad happens, I hate that I can't get in touch with my husband to let him know. And of course those things always seem to happen when there's a lull in our communication. Several years ago, my grandmother passed away while my husband was at NTC. I had no way of contacting him and telling him that I needed him. I didn't hear from him until three days later, which meant that I had to deal with all of my emotions on my own, far from family since I was in Germany. It was torture not to be able to reach him at such a sad time.
Right now I am dealing with the same feeling, though on the opposite side of the coin. I have something really amazing and exciting to tell him, but I just have to keep waiting until he calls me.
I hate that I can't pick up a phone and share big life events with him.
May 11, 2008|
A reminder to watch NBC tonight at 7:00 EDT to see Donny and Marie Osmond crown America's Favorite Mom. There are three Military Moms vying for the title.
If one of these three moms win the title, here's how they plan to spend the prize money:
Patton Bader wants America’s soldiers to be the big winners. “I plan on using everything to help heroes. Everything,” she says, referring to the wide variety of prizes she could receive if she is lucky enough to win. “It is a true honor to stand with these fourteen outstanding moms," she adds.
If Melinda wins, Adam said, they plan to donate part of the prize to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and spend $10,000 or so buying groceries for families at the Fort Carson post exchange.
Rosanna Vasquez-Brown
I can't find an article that states how Rosanna plans to spend the money, but click here to watch her moving video.
All mom's are special, and I hope all of you are having a wonderful Mother's Day, but I'm biased and I'd love to see a Military Mom win! Good luck to all of you.
May 10, 2008|
My husband has only been gone for four days, but I've already come up with a few silver linings that I'm focusing on. There are some things that I've decided I like about deployment.
May 9, 2008|
Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day, a day to recognize the service and sacrifices of military spouses. SpouseBUZZ is pleased to welcome guest blogger, Lieutenant General William Caldwell, Commanding General, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Ft. Leavenworth. I'll turn it over to General Caldwell:
In 1984 President Reagan proclaimed the Friday before Mother's Day of each year to be Military Spouse Appreciation Day. We owe you, American military spouses, a great debt of gratitude for your strength and perseverance, especially during this time of war. Truly, your strength is the strength of our Nation.
All of us who have been deployed have drawn comfort from care packages, love letters, journal entries, holiday decorations, and prayers. Knowing that our Families are well looked after allows us to focus on our task to bring peace and stability to troubled areas of the world. The very security of this great nation is in the hands of our spouses at home.
We’ve watched you nurse your wounded warriors back to health in military hospitals. You’re there, still full of hope, when Troopers with head injuries don’t recognize their family. You encourage them. You decorate their rooms. You read their favorite books to them. You are the first to notice when they can squeeze your hand again for the first time.
The spouse on the home front pays the bills, fixes the car, gets the kids to soccer practice, helps with the homework and building the kids pinewood derby car... you are our true heroes. You have unique experiences that only other military spouses can comprehend.
Some spouses, like Deanna Salie, have had to comfort children when there was someone in uniform at the door, and when dad didn’t come home. Deanna’s husband, Army SFC David Salie, gave the ultimate sacrifice in Baqouba, Iraq, on Valentine’s Day in 2005. In one of David’s “just in case” videos he made for Deanna before he left for Iraq, he asked Deanna that in the event something did happen to him, “Hold our kids tight for me, and make sure they know who their daddy was and what he stood for.”
All military spouses know why their loved ones serve, and they share in their hardship and sacrifice and ask for little in return. It is humbling to those of us who wear the uniform to know that our best friends, our spouses, are serving along side us. Those of us in uniform serve because we love our Nation; our spouses do it for love of us. Our service men and women could not continue in this profession without your help, and for that we are eternally grateful….and so is our Nation.
Thank you for your guest post, General Caldwell. It's nice to see "the brass" reaching out to military spouses. And thanks to all military spouses for what you do each day to support your spouse, and each other.
May 9, 2008|
Well, diet and exercise wise, this last week was a total wash.
Several of the SpouseBUZZ authors came to visit, and unless you count giggling madly and staying up late as forms of exercise, I did about ZILCH. Although I will work out today.
I also dug in with relish to foods like waffles with real syrup, a bleu cheese burger, chips, and the dreaded Onion Petals at Logan's Road House.
Not my finest week in my fitness journey, to be sure.
But never fear! Fitness Magazine has come to my rescue!
May 9, 2008|
Let's have a discussion about new military daddies!
Read the article after the jump - then please share your thoughts and opinions on the information provided.
May 9, 2008|
Recently had a flight down to Dallas, TX on Southwest Airlines. Which I have to say was an experience…it’s more like riding a bus. You get on and people get off at various stops, at which time you are free to move about the cabin and change seats before the next group of riders comes on….the same thing happens at the next stop. I kinda liked the system and will definitely fly them again! However, I digress.
May 8, 2008|
If you operate a blog (or know of a blog) that you'd like to share with the rest of us, and it was not listed on this thread, please leave the blog name and url in the comment section. I'm sure there are new blogs which have cropped up since we posted the first list and we'd love to know about them so that we can pass the links on to SpouseBUZZ readers.
May 8, 2008|
Tonight on SBTR, we are hosting a show about protecting your belongings, and your identity. Joining us for the first half of the program will be Tim Decker, USAA's Executive Director of Bank Fraud Services. Tim will talk with us about how to protect ourselves from "fraudsters" and "scams."
During the second half of the program, we'll be joined by Justin Schmitt, USAA's Executive Director of Property and Casualty Communications. Many military families rent their homes and apartments so we'll speak with Justin about the benefits of purchasing renter's insurance; why it's important, what it covers and how much it costs.
Tim and Justin will be taking your calls and answering your questions. In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day (May 9), USAA will present two lucky callers (must be a military spouse) with iPod Nanos, so get ready to phone your questions in. You could walk away with a brand new iPod!
Don't miss tonight's show, it's going to be chock full of advice and tips. Click here at 9:00 p.m. EDT to listen in. And please join us in the chat room.
May 8, 2008|
As the week hurtles toward Saturday and my law school graduation ceremony, I am taking stock of the past two years and thought it might be fun if you did too...
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