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Military Families

#MilitaryMonday: Postpartum Depression, Putting the Pieces Back Together

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's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Amy's Breastfeeding Advocacy Story

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 Smolinski's picture

#MilitaryMonday: A Tale of Military Milk Sharing and Wet Nursing

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 Smolinski's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Anything but Cliché

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's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Army Birthday, More than Just Cake

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's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Staying in Touch When So Far Away

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...

#MilitaryMonday: Freelancing—Being Your Own Boss and Being Happy!

May 1, 2017
One of the greatest struggles that I’ve had as a military spouse, harder than the separations, more trying than the unknowns, has been the act of leaving. Leaving family, leaving friends, leaving a home. For someone like myself who already struggles with opening up and allowing people to get to...
Jennifer Novak's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Madre, esposa, inmigrante, soldado

April 25, 2017
Me llamo Brishithe Tovar y nací en Guatemala. Mi familia y yo emigramos a California cuando tenía 9 años después de que mi madre fuera asaltada a mano armada cuando tenía 6 meses de embarazo. El trauma y el estrés fueron tan severos que mi mamá desarrolló presión arterial peligrosamente alta y...
Brishithe Tovar's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Mom, Wife, Immigrant, Soldier

April 24, 2017
My name is Brishithe Tovar and I was born in Guatemala. My family and I migrated to California when I was 9 years old after my mother got robbed at gunpoint when she was 6 months pregnant. The shock and stress was so severe, my mom developed dangerously high blood pressure and temporary blindness,...
Brishithe Tovar's picture

#MilitaryMonday: Military Spouse-Owned Businesses Face Their Biggest Obstacle: The Military

April 17, 2017
Since 9/11, a new generation of military spouses has emerged; women and men married to service members who want to maintain a career or business as they follow their spouse where the military demands. The military lifestyle requires out-of-the-box thinking to create a transportable career and, with...
Erica McMannes's picture

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