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Happy to be Home! DoDLive Blogger Roundtable
Photo Credit: Real Warrior Campaign“Happy to be Home”Normally you start a blog with the beginning and work your way to the end; today, I started with the closing comments of Master Sergeant Aaron Tippett, US Army. The Blogger Roundtable had the opportunity to interview and listen to the comments of an American hero and how he dealt with the challenges of PTSD. Listen up military spouses! He responded to his spouse after she saw the cumulative effects of multiple deployments. Stay in touch with your spouse! His advise for spouses was, “be there, listen, be supportive,” but don’t push it, each soldier is different. After his wife encouraged him to…
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Home for the Holidays #HickoryTradition
Home for the Holidays. It can mean so much to the mobile, military family. Sometimes it means having your spouse beside you as you celebrate a quiet Christmas, just the two of you. It can mean jumping in the car and travelling thousands of miles to be home with Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters. Then there are the holidays when your kids surround you as the anticipation mounts for such a fun day all the while talking with their mom or dad on Skype while they serve over seas and in foreign lands.Pin this image for an additional chance to win a Gift Basketfrom Hickory Farms. Further details belowSo tell us: What does…
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Inspiration for Veterans Day > A Critically Wounded Hero and His Wife Speak Up
As Veterans Day approaches my thoughts (and I am guessing many Americans as well) frequently go to images of World War II veterans, local veteran recognition, parades, corporate efforts for veteran employment announcements and images of Arlington National Cemetery. CPT Edward Klein and wife Jessica See below for photo creditThe wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a new focus on veterans and one that often (thankfully) includes the wounded heroes who will bear the scars, invisible injuries and lost limbs of war. Captain Edward Klein, US Army, a triple amputee due to an IED attack in Afghanistan, and his wife Jessica joined the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss their…
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Girlfriends
Ah vacation … what is meant to be a great time to get away can be so very stressful. Especially those hours leading up to a trip. Packing the van for a family trip is my personal hell. Setting the expectation that my husband will help me when I want him to help me always leaves me… disappointed, frustrated, misunderstood. To say my husband works hard is an understatement. That I get. Let’s put it this way, vacation is scheduled to start today (like at 0800) and he is at work. There was nothing he could do about that fact. I have accepted that because flexibility is the name of the…
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New and Old Adventures for the Military Family
Old adventure!A military PCS is always an adventure! In fact, “military lifestyle” is a synonym for adventure. Finding new fun things to do in your new community after a PCS can be challenging for a military family! Heading outdoors, new schools, new jobs, getting out the front door, off the installation, exploring social opportunities, meeting new friends, visiting local highlights, browsing new malls, walking new trails and playing on new park equipment can be the best of times. But last week I had the greatest time exploring an adventure from the past! Charleston, South Carolina was a wonderful place to live but the summer’s were hot and humid and each…
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New beginnings! Are you ready?
The new school year, a PCS this summer, a new job/employment, a deployment return or departure, a new or revitalized faith, a new workout routine, a wedding, a birth, a health crisis … all can be new beginnings for the military community. So how do you help yourself during new “stuff”? Remember the Old! It gives us strength to remember what helped us in the past. Looking at old pictures is a great way to enjoy old friends, family times, previous assignments, etc. More important though is the support emotionally and physically we get from the routines that we created to cope with the military lifestyle. The new school…
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Universities that Support our Veterans
I read a recent article about two universities that ‘get it’. Rutgers University and the University of Arizona; The Lumina Foundation highlighted them in their recent magazine, you can read more here: Lumina Foundation Features Two Colleges for Their Work Serving Student Veterans; America Needs More Vets with Degrees to Meet Attainment Needs Just think, only three years ago Rutgers didn’t have any type of Veterans Program and now they are receiving national recognition. It goes to show you don’t have to jump through hoops to make it happen you just need to make a plan and stick to it! I love support like this for our Veterans and I certainly…
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The ‘busy-ness’ of Spring
Ah… Spring. A perfect adjective would be refreshing. We get out of the house. We start the garden. We clean off the deck. We pull out our soccer cleats, baseball gloves and running shorts. We pump up our bike tires, clean out our cars and hose off the outdoor dump trucks, bubble wands and kiddie pools. We open windows, smell the flowers, take long hikes. We start to fill the family calendar with all sorts of events. As military families we also might be looking at orders. We clean out our closets, get rid of the ‘extras’, plan for the future. We make last ditch moments to see the town we called home…
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“Mondays in My Garden”: Four Easy Ways to Save Money when starting your Garden
There are a few blogs that I just love. Household 6 Diva is one of them. Ann Marie is a down to earth Army spouse recently relocated from Germany to Texas and there are so many times that I think, “Wow, would we be good friends if our lives had ever crossed.” She started a series called “Mondays in My Garden”. Be sure to read her inaugural post here: Welcome to “Mondays in My Garden” Ah… my garden. Just the thought of it has my heart smiling. Yesterday it was 72 degrees out in NE Ohio. The back door was open all day. The front door was filled with sunshine. Smiles, laughs, giggles…
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Staying Connected
I love to be connected, don’t you? Just a quick Friday morning post to remind you how you can connect easily, right from where you are, with the MilitaryAvenue.com team. Continue Reading to learn how to stay connected with the military family We are real people, real military families, that want to help you the military member, spouse, child, parent. So if you are using these social network tools then join us! We’d love to help anyway we can!MilitaryAvenue.com on PinterestMilitaryAvenue.com on FacebookSubscribe to “Our Letters to You”,a military family blogMilitaryAvenue.com on LinkedInMilitaryAvenue.com on TwitterMilitaryAvenue.com on Google+ Where are you that we aren’t? Let us know so that we can take a…
