MilSpouses need to lift each other up
So while I am writing this, there has been a lot of chatter about military spouses, military spouse employment, the sacrifices people make. You know speaking from experience we are the ones who hold our family and household together, while our loved ones are training, away or deployed. Many people have asked me, "what can we do". When all the rage of being a military family has fell by the wayside, I am not sure, but just don't forget. 11 years ago, it was really different being a military spouse, things have changed, some good and some bad.
Personally we need to help the new spouses and a few seasoned spouses and the spouses who are geographically displaced throughout the world that need help. The ones who can't get to a military installation. I am not sure if they feel alone but we need to help our brother and sister spouses in their time of need. As I read in another blog "It's about doing everything we can lift each other up, to be the one who stands in the gap for our fellow spouse who doesn't think he/she can go on any longer." (Tim) It isn't about celebrities telling us how they understand, it is about us reaching out to other spouses saying yes you are not alone in this and we are here to help and we understand. True there are some people who say you signed up for this, or you knew what you were getting into but still it is hard and the sacrifices of military families are very difficult. I will continue to do everything I can to support our military spouses. Also I don't want to forget about the spouses at the military installation, true we have things closer to us but we still are far away from our families, so being a active duty/reserve/national guard, there are advantages and disadvantages on each (the grass is always greener syndrome).
You know we all have a day that just doesn't go right, or something is just off, I want to let you know just reach out to a friend or a sister spouse. We all have these moments.
TO my military spouses, I urge you to volunteer with your local unit or military installation. Get invovled in something, whether it is helping out with the local post/base school, getting invovled with AFTB or the equivalent in the branch you are in, helping out in the community where you live and shop (Red Cross), go back to school or start college classes. Just remember being a dependent doesn't mean you can't live your life.
To Civilians, well if you see a spouse who looks sad, talk to them to make sure they are ok, if you see a spouse who has 3 or 4 kids and has no time to mow the yard help them out. Be a good neighbor and friend.
This is what I am doing in the last few weeks. The month of July has been so exciting, from attending a Juvenile Arthritis Conference to a trip to LA to be on the Ricki Lake show and starting a new job. For the first time in years, I was able to get a private job in the civilian world dealing with the military. I even started my own Emergency Management Consulting Firm on the side. I really hope that I can move up the career ladder with this one. It looks like it has potential. This summer I worked with Truman National Security Project, organizing events here in NC, we are a nonpartisan, non-profit organization. I decided not to get my PhD or go to Law School, but I decided to work on a degree in National Security, this has been my passion since college. I even tried to write about it for my Master's Thesis but I decided against it. Yes I am going to get a Master of Science in International Relations with a concentration on National Security.
Personally we need to help the new spouses and a few seasoned spouses and the spouses who are geographically displaced throughout the world that need help. The ones who can't get to a military installation. I am not sure if they feel alone but we need to help our brother and sister spouses in their time of need. As I read in another blog "It's about doing everything we can lift each other up, to be the one who stands in the gap for our fellow spouse who doesn't think he/she can go on any longer." (Tim) It isn't about celebrities telling us how they understand, it is about us reaching out to other spouses saying yes you are not alone in this and we are here to help and we understand. True there are some people who say you signed up for this, or you knew what you were getting into but still it is hard and the sacrifices of military families are very difficult. I will continue to do everything I can to support our military spouses. Also I don't want to forget about the spouses at the military installation, true we have things closer to us but we still are far away from our families, so being a active duty/reserve/national guard, there are advantages and disadvantages on each (the grass is always greener syndrome).
You know we all have a day that just doesn't go right, or something is just off, I want to let you know just reach out to a friend or a sister spouse. We all have these moments.
TO my military spouses, I urge you to volunteer with your local unit or military installation. Get invovled in something, whether it is helping out with the local post/base school, getting invovled with AFTB or the equivalent in the branch you are in, helping out in the community where you live and shop (Red Cross), go back to school or start college classes. Just remember being a dependent doesn't mean you can't live your life.
To Civilians, well if you see a spouse who looks sad, talk to them to make sure they are ok, if you see a spouse who has 3 or 4 kids and has no time to mow the yard help them out. Be a good neighbor and friend.
This is what I am doing in the last few weeks. The month of July has been so exciting, from attending a Juvenile Arthritis Conference to a trip to LA to be on the Ricki Lake show and starting a new job. For the first time in years, I was able to get a private job in the civilian world dealing with the military. I even started my own Emergency Management Consulting Firm on the side. I really hope that I can move up the career ladder with this one. It looks like it has potential. This summer I worked with Truman National Security Project, organizing events here in NC, we are a nonpartisan, non-profit organization. I decided not to get my PhD or go to Law School, but I decided to work on a degree in National Security, this has been my passion since college. I even tried to write about it for my Master's Thesis but I decided against it. Yes I am going to get a Master of Science in International Relations with a concentration on National Security.
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