surviving deployment

To the Burned Out Solo Parent

To the Burned Out Solo Parent

It’s almost bedtime, almost. You start your bedtime routine at 6:30 on the dot and if all goes well, the kids will be alseep by 7:30, or 8:30, usually by 9, but sometimes even as late as 10:00. It just depends. As your spouse is deployed at the moment, it really doesn’t matter how long bedtime takes, it will still be 100% on you to get those kids to bed. There will be no trading off nights, no asking for help, no relief if you had a burned out day and need to just chill by yourself for a bit. …

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The First Night After the Deployment is Over

You have waited for months and months, and the day is finally here. Homecoming… The deployment is over, and you will get your spouse back, after so much time apart. If you have never been through a deployment or homecoming before, you might be asking yourself how that first night will go, after the deployment is over. For months now, you have joked with your friends about how that will be, and how exciting having your spouse back in your arms again will feel. You have some idea of how things will go, but you still might not really be …

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When Your Spouse Deploys

When Your Spouse Deploys

When Your Spouse Deploys When you are married to a soldier, you know the time will come; you know that they will eventually deploy. If they haven’t yet, you know they will and while you might know this is all coming, hearing those words are never easy. They come home from work one day, walk in the door, and by the look on their face, you know what they are going to say. There have been rumors, the other military spouses talk. You knew a deployment might happen, but you hoped they wouldn’t leave until next year. When your kids were …

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Just Keep Swimming Military Spouse, Just Keep Swimming

reminding yourself to keep going, that you can get through this will go a long way in helping you do just that. 

Just Keep Swimming Military Spouse, Just Keep Swimming I was on my high school swim team, all four years. I had a love/hate relationship with it. For most of my high school years, practice was at 5:45 in the mornings. Diving into the pool that early in the morning was so tough most days. And then there was the workout. We practiced for over an hour. Lap after lap after lap. Often we would be required to do 20 laps at a time. As anyone who works out on a regular basis knows, you have to figure out how to …

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To the Military Spouse Starting Their First Deployment This Year

To the Military Spouse Starting Their First Deployment This Year

To the Military Spouse Starting Their First Deployment This Year With a new year brings a lot of promise. We can’t help but think of all the things we will achieve, all the ways we will grow, and all the fun we will have. But for those with a deployment in the near future, things aren’t quite as exciting. Instead of looking ahead to the potential a new year can bring, there is dread. Instead of being happy about the new year, there is sadness, thinking about everything their spouse will miss. If you are a military spouse starting your first …

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Why Military Spouses Should Keep a Journal, Especially During a Deployment

Why Military Spouses Should Keep a Journal, Especially During a Deployment

Why Military Spouses Should Keep a Journal, Especially During a Deployment Have you ever been mad at the military? I know I have. What is the best thing to do in that situation? Venting about it to my friends can help, but in the end, there is nothing anyone can do to help my situation. The Army did what the Army does, and there isn’t anything I can do to change that. So out comes my journal, and I write all about how angry I am at the Army, how unfair I feel this decision was, and how I wish …

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Beyond Staying Busy: 18 Things That Can Truly Help You Survive Your Next Deployment

Beyond Staying Busy: 18 Things That Can Truly Help You Survive Your Next Deployment

Beyond Staying Busy: 18 Things That Can Truly Help You Survive Your Next Deployment The #1 bit of advice you will receive during a deployment is to stay busy. That’s simple enough, right? But how about beyond that? What can you do on a day to day basis to get through your deployment? What can you do to make time move faster and not to feel like you are always falling apart when you are surviving a deployment? Here are 18 things that can truly help you survive your next deployment: 1. Buy a journal, write in it daily Find …

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How Going Through a Long Deployment Shaped My Parenting

How Going Through a Long Deployment Shaped My Parenting

How Going Through a Long Deployment Shaped My Parenting When my husband deployed for the first time my oldest son was 23 months old and I was 25 weeks pregnant. I was a new mom with some parenting experience under my belt. I was still learning a lot, and we were slowly leaving the baby stage. And just like that, it was just my son and me. A few months later our 2nd little boy was born. My husband came home for R&R and met him when he was three days old. He left again when he was almost three …

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13 Super Smart Marriage Tips For Military Couples Going Through A Deployment

13 Super Smart Marriage Tips For Military Couples Going Through A Deployment

13 Super Smart Marriage Tips For Military Couples Going Through A Deployment With a deployment in the future, you could be a little worried about your marriage. You have heard the stories, you just don’t know what being away from one another for an extended period of time will be like. How will your marriage get through this? Will you come out stronger on the other side? Here are 13 super smart marriage tips for military couples going through a deployment: 1. Communication is important Although you won’t always be able to talk to one another because of the mission, …

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What To Do When The Deployment Days Don’t Want To Move

Deployment days

What To Do When The Deployment Days Don’t Want To Move Anyone who has gone through a deployment knows that some parts of the deployment move faster than others. In fact, the first few weeks and the last few weeks are the longest. Or they feel like it anyway. Some parts of your deployment are going to fly. You will get into a good routine, you have filled up your calendar and then boom, the days come to a halt. Time slows down, and it seems like the deployment will never be over. If you have hit that deployment wall, …

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