Military Families

September 29, 2017

I drove my son to school today because he missed the bus . . . again. Although that menial and tedious task certainly had not been a part of my plan for today, one of the things I value deeply in this unpredictable life is trying to make the most of unexpected moments. So as I sat next to him in...

Alyssa Gavulic

Gun Safety Military Families

September 25, 2017

As the wife of a former U.S. Naval Aviator who flew jets over Iraq and was shot at with surface to air missiles, I understand the trauma of combat. Before he deployed, I asked my husband to write letters to our daughters in case he didn’t make it back. He thought I was being morbid – until the...

Martina Leinz

Military Families

September 18, 2017

Dear New Teacher, Today my child enters your classroom for the first time in a new school . It might be the first day of the school year, or it might be inconveniently smack-dab in the middle of a grading period. He likely knows no one in his homeroom class, likely no other children in the school...

National Military Family Association

Breastfeeding Military Families

August 28, 2017

This post is written by SSG Amanda Marion who is currently an instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. She is a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) as well as holding certifications in prenatal/postpartum fitness and aerobics/kickboxing. She is a single mother to a six year old who...

Robyn Roche-Paull

Breastfeeding Health Care Maternal Justice Military Families

August 21, 2017

Recently I went to a local Modern Quilt Guild’s meeting. It was a “sit’n’sew” meeting, meaning women can sew together for 5 hours, with no other distractions. Boy, did I love the sound of that, just me, my sewing machine, and new quilting friends. As I sat and listened at the beginning of the...

Jenna Barton

Breastfeeding Military Families

August 7, 2017

I breastfed my twins for 19 months, until they self-weaned. (You can read about that experience here. ) Shortly after their second birthday, we moved to Germany when my husband got orders to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. One day, I popped into the lactation room to change a diaper, and found a...

Amy Barron Smolinski, MA, ALC, CLC

Breastfeeding Military Families

July 10, 2017

One of the things that makes me proud to be a mother of my generation is watching us start to buck the social norms and do whatever it takes in order to get what we want and deserve for our families. All growing up, we were told that as women, we could do whatever we wanted, we could have both a...

Amy Barron Smolinski, MA, ALC, CLC

Military Families

June 26, 2017

Unfortunately, my life is anything but cliché. Sometimes I wish I could just easily fit into that predictable pattern that a stereotype would offer. But no, that’s not me. I grew up in a broken home as the oldest of 6 children with a variety of stepfathers that were less than qualified for the job...

Alyssa Gavulic

Military Families

June 12, 2017

Each time I tell my children they are attending an official ceremony, they immediately ask if there will be cake. They’ve quickly learned that Army ceremonies almost always include cake, even those that occur before most of the rest of the world is awake. Army Birthday The Army celebrates its...

Rebecca Alwine

Military Families

May 15, 2017

I am a military spouse. Since my husband, Rich, is in the Army Reserves, the role of military spouse does not occupy a whole lot of my head space—that is until he is deployed. We are in one of those times right now. The number of Americans currently serving in the military is a small slice of the U...

Lisa Brown