Guest Writer, Author at Milspouse Conversations™

20Sep 2021 by Guest Writer No Comments

Why I Wrote I Move A Lot and That’s Okay

Military Child Teen Life, Military Spouse Life

Jasmine Smith Photography - Shermaine Perry-Knights - Library You ask, “why did I write this book?” I Move A Lot and That’s Okay is simply the book that I wanted as a kid. Let’s face it, moving is hard to do! Moving is incredibly scary for kids. Relocation is a whirlwind of frustration and activity. There are extreme highs and lows of emotional, social, and physical change. Many kids struggle to leave everything and everyone behind for the journey ahead. Now let's add the pressure of PCSing and “daily military life”. The average military child changes schools nine times between kindergarten and graduation. Books can help! “I Move A Lot and That's Okay” teaches young readers resilience, flexibility and how to navigate emotions. Being a military brat isn’t always easy.…

13Sep 2021 by Guest Writer No Comments

Things I Have Learned In Preparing For Military Retirement

Military Spouse Life, Milspouse Conversations

How do you process something for which you have very little context, knowledge, or understanding? I have had to keep asking questions and trying to build on my fund of knowledge, but some days my brain doesn’t want to cooperate. For a little background, The Huz and I have been married for 29 years (in October), and together for 30 years. We met when I was a college senior and he was a high school senior. We married when he was 19, and had our first child when he was 20. He is a Marine Corps brat, and originally attempted to get into the Corps, but had a knee injury when he was in high school and the Corps determined that he was a poor risk, and rejected him. Four…

21Aug 2021 by Guest Writer No Comments

Our Love Story

Military Spouse Love Stories

Our Love Story By Lizann Lightfoot, the Seasoned Spouse My husband and I met at a small community swimming pool. I was the lifeguard, and his family had just moved into the neighborhood. We were both 18 and had just graduated from high school. We connected instantly. Even though I was going away to college in a few months, we soon started dating and promised to make the long-distance thing work. Ha! At the time, we thought long-distance was living a few hours apart, and us being able to visit each other at least once a month. That was before he joined the Marine Corps. We had been dating for less than a year when he decided to enlist to pay for college. He went off to Boot Camp, followed…

13Mar 2021 by Guest Writer 1 Comment

Bloom Where You Are Planted – 5 Things To Make A New House Feel Like Home

Military Spouse Life, PCSing

Bloom where you are planted! This statement rings true for military families. Every 2-3 years we are expected to uproot our families and move to a new place. This is definitely one of the hardest things about military life. It is hard to say “goodbye” to our home we have lived and made memories over the past few years. Seeing the stark white walls of military housing or moving to a new house can often be intimidating. With each PCS there are five things I would recommend doing to make your new house feel like home. Unpack your kitchen! One of the first things I always did was get my kitchen unpacked. I would even be unpacking it while the movers were there unloading the trucks. Everything went into the…

01Nov 2020 by Guest Writer No Comments

The Breakthrough You Need to Fight Holiday Loneliness

Military Spouse Life

Last Thanksgiving, I accidentally stumbled upon a breakthrough activity that connected me to my long-distance friends—cooking each other’s recipes and commenting back and forth about them on Instagram. I’m all about the in-person connection, but this holiday I was lonely and needed some company while I cooked. (more…)

22Sep 2020 by Guest Writer No Comments

Coast Guard Girlfriend To Navy Wife Love Story

Military Spouse Life, Military Spouse Love Stories

I am a formal Coast Guard GF of 2 years and a current Navy Wife of 7 years. I consider myself a master packer, an expert at finding my tribe quickly and a tiny human tamer with my four little ones. I feel strongly that I became a military spouse in order to help others because it was not in my original "plans". But then again, that's basically how military life is! I met my husband in 2004. He was stationed in my home town of Memphis, Tennessee, in the Coast Guard and we went to church together. I had never really interacted with military members growing up, so I was a complete newbie to everything. He was tall, dark and handsome and so quiet. I actually thought he hated…

25Aug 2020 by Guest Writer No Comments

Those Dress Blues Tho’

Military Spouse Life, Military Spouse Love Stories

Originally published 1/21/20 Okay, so promise me you won’t tell my husband this because I’ve denied it for ten years now (and will probably take it to my grave!). I was the Program Director for the Boys and Girls Club of Danville, Illinois. We had a table at the job fair that was held at the community college. It was my co-worker’s turn to represent the company that day, so I was back at the office. After a couple of hours, I received a phone call from her in which she said, “There’s a hot Marine here – you should come!” Although I wasn’t dressed for meeting “the one”, I didn’t have much work to do, so I headed to the job fair. Of course I took extra brochures to…

18Aug 2020 by Guest Writer No Comments

I Am Not Okay

Military Spouse Life

Originally published to Milspouse Conversations - 11/25/19 Let me tell you all a secret about me- although I am usually Little Ms. Sunshine, sometimes that's a front. I married very young. My husband and I were high school sweethearts from Podunk Town, Mississippi. He wanted to join the Navy, and because that was his dream, I eagerly followed. I had no idea what military life entailed. No one close to me had ever served. Hell, I thought that (one of my all-time favorite movies) Top Gun, was the Air Force because of the pilots. I simply assumed that if you flew a plane you were in the Air Force. That's how green I was. I've held it together through most of the years. Many moves, babies, promotions, deaths, and deployments…

21Jul 2020 by Guest Writer No Comments

4 Simple Self-Care Practices for MILSOs to Start Off the New Year

Military Spouse Life

This article was originally published January 2020. Military Spouse Life Military life is not for the faint of heart. Moving every 18 months-3 years on average means starting over. Finding new friends, service providers, activities, schools, church just to name a few can cause even the most seasoned spouse to put themselves on the back burner. Deployments, workups, on-call schedules, and the unpredictability of their spouse's work also come into play. There is added pressure of being both mother and father to their children while that parent is gone. (more…)

09Jul 2020 by Guest Writer No Comments

Being Beautifully Imperfect

Military Spouse Life

Originally posted on Milspouse Conversations in 2019 Hello! My name is Annette and I am a 44-year-old female. I am a mother to a 19-year-old daughter who is a sophomore in college and a 16-year-old son who is a high school junior. I am also a military spouse of over 21 years and a Retired Army Disabled Combat Veteran. Long title right? Well, it does not define me but it helps when I share my story… (more…)