Military Spouse Network
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Picking up and moving to a foreign country can not only be stressful, it can be scary. With a variety of supportive resources, especially if living on base, Heather Sweeney says it can be far too easy to hide in the fishbowl in hopes of replicating life in America. A Navy wife and mother of two, Sweeney experienced her own hesitation while stationed with her husband in Japan.
“The language was too hard to learn, I’d be way too far away from family, and there was no way a 5′ 7″ blonde female could possibly blend in. I would stand out like, well, an American in Japan,” she writes in SpouseBUZZ.
Fortunately, Sweeney overcame the culture shock to make the best of the overseas tour. Here’s how you can too.
A lot of focus is placed on the difficulty associated with military families transferring schools during a PCS or deployment, but the military community faces problems with school bureaucracy at other times as well. Not every school district is lax with rules and regulations, and spending time with a parent they don’t often see because of deployment can make their grades suffer.
A new bill proposed in Texas is hoping to relax the rules a bit for the unique situations military families experience. Will it work?
If you’re a military spouse, you might have to move by yourself.
Moving houses can be intimidating in the first place, but having to move by yourself can be downright frightening. If you’re a military spouse, that might be the reality at some point in your life when your spouse is deployed.
“I am an active duty military spouse with two children and six ‘on my own’ moves under my belt,” said Roxanne Reed, Executive Director of the Military Spouse Foundation and Marine Corps spouse. “I’ll be honest — moving stressed me out to no end in the beginning, but now I see it as a time to clean out, reorganize and start fresh.”
Although moving by yourself is an ominous prospect, there are several tips and precautions you can take that will make the process much smoother and easier.
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For many military members, home isn’t a picket fenced location; it’s a mindset that you need to be able to pack up at a moment’s notice.
Members of the military community often struggle to get a true sense of home while they are constantly moving.
One way to improve your attitude is to create crafts and art that represent the different places you have lived so you’ll always remember where you’ve been and be able to take them with you.
Check out these great crafts and ideas to help you channel your memories of past homes into great visual and mental reminders.
Housing on military bases is usually beige walls and flooring, but these tips can make a cookie cutter house feel like your custom home. Keep in mind things that work for one house, may not work in the next townhouse, apartment or duplex. Whether it’s your first home or tenth, if you stay flexible and get creative, your moves will be less stressful and easier on your wallet. See More
Keep your eyes off the clock and avoid short time syndrome.
“Honey, we’ve got orders” are four of the most powerful words in the military community. Once you hear them you know you’ve got to pack up, move bases and essentially start over in a new place and make new friends.
A common tip in the military community is to try and anticipate these changes. But what happens when an expectation of moving in the future keeps you from enjoying life where you are now?
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The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act was created because of the difficulties military families faced when moving to a new state. Since moving is a given with the military lifestyle the legislation makes an effort to ease the burden of changing state residencies every two to three years.
For years military spouses were left struggling to find new jobs, shuffling stacks of paperwork and tiptoeing around miles of red tape just to get settled in a new state. The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, signed in 2009, makes these moves a little bit easier in that it allows military families to move without having to change their state residence!
Military spouses should all be aware of this legislation and how the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act works in your favor to relieve some stress when you’re faced with your next PCS. See More
Command sponsorship is a hot topic for spouses and dependents of service members hoping to accompany their loved one overseas. The most common command sponsorships are granted in European countries but are also used for many Asian countries as well as families moving to Hawaiian bases. See More
Military spouses have plenty of circumstances to prepare for in the military. One of which is overseas travel. If the order for a PCS or the funeral of an armed service member requires overseas travel, military dependents must obtain a no-fee passport.
Here are a few things to know about no-fee passports and the process of getting one: See More
Many families decide that having a spouse at home to take care of children and run the household is the best option based on the costs of childcare and the feasibility of finding a high paying job when big moves are all too likely.
Even though there are numerous benefits to having a stay at home parent, many people struggle to find a solid identity without the guidance and rewards of a career. As Marine Wife Unplugged wrote about it, it can be especially difficult as a military spouse because you are often separated from your family and support network and can easily feel overwhelmed and isolated.
If you are a stay-at-home parent, check out these ideas to help you build a strong identity. See More
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