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We received dozens of excellent essays and responses to our “Blue Star Stories” initiative that began last month.
Our first prompt for the Military Spouse Central community was this: “What are some of the things only a military family or military spouse would know?” You sent us some incredible responses, and we wanted to highlight a couple of them over the next few days.
Our first reader essay is from Marine spouse L. Dawn VanWaus-Carreon. She’ll receive a $50 credit to the Veterans United company store. Check out her outstanding response below, and look for the October writing prompt soon.
-Adrienne
Deployment is a large adjustment for a couple. The military service member might usually have had certain responsibilities at home that the spouse must now undertake. Because deployment is a change, some spouses might decide to keep the household as similar as possible to normal, but others might choose to do things differently.
Whether or not spouses have children, deployment is a time when habits and behaviors tend to change temporarily, both out of necessity and out of choice.
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Rejoice in the fact that your service member is home.
Homecoming is a hard thing to prep for as a military spouse. It’s hard to keep your mind from wandering. The imagination runs wild, and after being on your own so long, it feel nice to hope and fantasize about how all of your worries and your loneliness will melt away and magically your family will move forward without missing a beat.
Unfortunately, that’s seldom the case.
It’s key to remember that a successful reintegration and homecoming is one that has few expectations, because disappointment can really sour everything. One area that expectations are hard to manage is in the bedroom.
Kristen Smith, manager of Loving a Soldier blog, talks about her experiences with military life.
Meet Kristen Smith.
She is a military spouse, but she is also the blog coordinator for Loving A Soldier, a mother, a professional photographer, a volunteer, a food blogger and an equestrian. Although very busy, she makes the most of her time and has much wisdom to share regarding all aspects of being a military wife.
She discusses her experiences with military life, work, deployment and relationships below.
Christine Lay’s husband, Andrew, just returned home from deployment. She is pictured here with her son, Jamey.
When Christine Lay’s husband came home, she described the feeling as “amazing,” if she could even put her excitement into words.
You might know Christine as the mother whose son, Jamey, received a service dog from Veterans United Foundation. But there’s a lot more to this military spouse. Her husband, Andrew Lay, returned home in July to El Paso, Texas, from deployment after being away for nine months.
Although she said their relationship grew stronger because of this challenge, it wasn’t always easy maintaining a sense of normalcy at home.
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If you and your spouse are retired, read on for different ways to keep busy during retirement.
Tutorials and pictures of elaborate nail art are all the rage these days online. I thought it would be fun to find the best military-themed nails and put them all in one place with some instructions and tips from the experts!
These nails are a lot of work, and are they aren’t usually for everyday, around-the-house wear. They might make a fun addition to a homecoming outfit or could be perfect for a military ball, with a bit of a glamorous touch. See More
Picking an outfit for homecoming is all about making sure you feel attractive, comfortable and confident!I am typically a pretty low-maintenance girl who takes pride in having wash-and-wear hair and getting ready to go out in 20 minutes flat. When homecoming rolls around, all of that changes.
Suddenly, I transform into a woman I hardly know who frets and throws tantrums over dresses that “are all bunchy in all the wrong places.” I fall into the traps of I-have-nothing-to-wear and I-look-awful-in-everything-I-put-on.
It is important to remember that your welcome will be a great one, no matter what you wear. Your service member misses you. Homecoming is about love and you can’t do love wrong. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with picking out a special outfit for homecoming and doing a little extra primping for your service member. The extra effort can help show significant others they’re special.
Over the last year lots of military spouses have asked me for advice on what to wear for homecoming. I am not a fashion expert, but here are some of my suggestions, examples, ideas and tips gathered from the military homecomings I ‘ve seen. See More
This is one of those moments that you hope is perfect; advice on making the most of homecoming.
One of the most anxiety-ridden times for a military family is right before homecoming. There is often a high level of uncertainty about how the service member responded to the difficulties of deployment.
We asked readers about the stress of homecoming and collected some great ideas for how to ease it and make sure things go off without a hitch for you and your family. See More
Life moves fast in the military. Vow renewal may or may not be the perfect solution to a less-than-ideal wedding.
Plans are often tentative in the military. A road trip alone may have a plan A, B, C, D and still not work out. Road trips come and go, but what happens when a military couple wants to plan their once-in-a-lifetime wedding?
Some military couples may have their dream wedding no problem, but it isn’t uncommon for an enlistment date, assignment, deployment or other military-related circumstance to call for some sacrifice and compromise.
Many couples consider vow renewals or second ceremonies. If you’re one of those couples, here are a few things to think about: See More
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