August 2013 - Spouse Buzz - The Network of Care

Military Wife Quotes: ‘Blorft’ is an Adjective I Just Made Up

Every morning I wake up, drink some coffee and gird my loins for the day to come. Because in military life, especially, there’s no telling what kind of crazy any day will bring. What time will my husband come home? (Who knows!) What moving-related misadventure...

Published Sun, Aug 18 2013 5:17 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Quotes

Signs Deployment Will End Soon

This is my favorite time of deployment. Just like the first whiff of a fresh pack of Sharpie, or the first red velvet bow at the mall at Christmas, the signs the deployment will end are starting to come out. The beginning of our homecoming season is always...

Published Thu, Aug 01 2013 5:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Deployment, Navy, sailors, to do lists, marines, end of deployment

Early Back To School Checklist

I confess that back to school checklists are my own secret way of anticipating the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This year our school got into the checklist thing even before the moms. They sent the list of necessary school supplies in the same packet...

Published Sun, Aug 04 2013 4:58 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: kids, military kids, back to school, military mom

What You Need: Creative Ways to Make Friends on Base

My finger tightened around the tepid glass of orange juice. Music reverberated against the windowpanes. Dress swirled and girls giggled as boys pulled them closer. My gaze remained downcast. If only I could blend into the beige walls. Making friends at...

Published Tue, Aug 06 2013 10:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: PCS, FRG/Spouse Support

Dear Syria: We Are Ready to Go Like That

When asked by a BBC reporter if we are ready to go “like that” in case of chemical warfare in Syria, Secretary of Defense Hagel confirmed, “We are ready to go, like that.” “The options are there, the United States Department of Defense is ready...

Published Thu, Aug 29 2013 6:47 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Deployment, Spouse & Family News

We Don’t Need No Reintegration

This family is completely out of whack. During deployment we rolled along, sure. But we were running like one of our tires was firmly mounted on a 6000-mile axel. Now that Brad is home, we need to be rotated and rebalanced. The military wants to call...

Published Thu, Aug 22 2013 6:12 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Deployment, Reintegration, blue star families, balance

Make Your Homecoming Resolutions Now

Homecoming tends to arrive … eventually. But we spend a lot of time thinking about it first. We spend time worrying about it, mooning over it, waiting for it, hoping for it, praying for it. I, for one, think there is a lot to say for rehearsing...

Published Sun, Aug 25 2013 5:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Reintegration

Poll: What Do You Unpack First?

Unpacking from a PCS is something of a science. The more you do it, the more you get it down to a fine-tuned rhythm. Me? I let the movers bring in my boxes and put together the stuff they took apart (like the beds) while I feverishly unpack the kitchen...

Published Tue, Aug 27 2013 9:50 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: PCS, Poll

Why You Should Join the SpouseBuzz Happiness Project

In military life, we know that happiness is not a destination. You don’t arrive there, unload the kids and set up camp. Nor is happiness a Stuart Smiley kind of glassy-eyed, simpering positivity. That doesn’t work around here, either. Instead, happiness...

Published Sat, Aug 10 2013 5:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: FRG/Spouse Support

Add the Perfect Touch to Your Birthday Care Package

The really annoying thing about care packages is that you constantly have to come up with new ideas for what to put in them. When your servicemember has a birthday while deployed you may find yourself in a particular rut. You probably have already sent...

Published Tue, Aug 13 2013 5:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Military Lifestyle

Adios Friends, I Don’t Need You Cuz Deployment Is Over

Am I a bad friend just if I disappear after homecoming? Since my husband is coming home in a few days, I’ve noticed that all of my friends have been dropping verbal notes of goodbye into our conversations. Oh, Brad is coming home. Well, I guess I won...

Published Thu, Aug 15 2013 10:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Deployment, Reintegration

How to be a Great Military Spouse Advocate

I’ve heard the argument that military families should be happy for what we have, and that if the Defense Department (or others) gets it wrong, our “job” as spouses is to hold our noses and support the chain of command. I suspect there are some old school...

Published Mon, Aug 19 2013 5:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: FRG/Spouse Support

How YOU Can End Sequestration

It isn’t that we mind saving money – it’s the sloppy way we’re doing it. That’s because sequestration was never actually supposed to happen. It was supposed to scare lawmakers into action. But instead it did and instead of trimming the DoD budget in a...

Published Fri, Aug 02 2013 6:23 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Spouse & Family News

5 Things Military Spouses Could Learn From Their ‘Old School’ Sisters

Being a military spouse is not a new thing. From the camp followers of the Revolutionary War who followed the troops from location to location, military spouses have remained a fixture of our armed forces. And since we’ve been around for hundreds of years...

Published Mon, Aug 05 2013 5:00 AM by SpouseBUZZ.com

Filed under: Military Life

DoDEA Furlough Days Canceled, Commissary Closers Reduced

If your kid attends a DoD public school we have good news — all of those furlough days scheduled between now and the end of the fiscal year have been completely canceled. And commissaries will no longer be closed on extra day starting the week of...

Published Tue, Aug 06 2013 1:09 PM by SpouseBUZZ.com