Make This Your Best Year Yet-The Self Care Approach

 This post is sponsored by American Women’s College, all opinions are my own. 

"...And I feel like what I've learned from this whole experience is, women, we’re nurturers, that’s what’s expected of us. We have our children, we have our husbands if we're lucky enough, and our partners. But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, "I can do that, and I should be allowed to do that.”
This excerpt from Glenn Close’s Golden Globe acceptance speech earlier this year couldn’t be more apt and also served to more solidify the intention of more self care that I set for this year.

As nurturers, we tend to place the needs of others before ours, be it our children, spouses, etc.,  and this habit seems even more pronounced when you’re a military spouse.  You can easily “lose yourself” in that role, many times over extending yourself to make everything work and meet the demands of an ever changing military paradigm. I am not one to usually make resolutions, but rather set intentions and though 2018 was a wonderful year in many aspects, I found that the area of self care could be vastly improved. 

So, this year, I will be focusing on just that; fostering a more healthy mind and body.

  Self care and how it’s manifested will look different for each of us but ultimately it involves taking care of ourselves and possibly becoming a better version of ourselves. For many military spouses, that means pursuing higher learning or completing an advanced degree. Online education has proven to be an invaluable tool for military spouses and civilians alike and as a military spouse who has completed an advanced degree online, I can attest to this.  

An accredited, fully online Bachelor’s program, The American Women’s College, was created just for adult women and offers over 20 degrees in dynamic fields to afford military spouses the opportunity to seek higher education that is accommodating for their lifestyle and helps them to realize a goal of self actualization.  I especially love that they offer an accelerated program that allows you to get your degree in less than 1-3,- years helping women realize their full potential sooner. xx

images: Lea Hartman

Online Learning Makes Higher Education Accessible for Military Spouses

This post is sponsored by American Women’s College, all opinions are my own.

As a military spouse, I feel such pride supporting my soldier husband unconditionally. However,  often times being a military spouse is riddled with challenges and sacrifices in support of the service member. Deployments are rampant and because of our nomadic lifestyle, it usually feels like as soon as we establish some sort of normalcy at an assigned duty station, it is time to move again. This makes it very difficult to establish our careers or maintain our jobs.

Despite the challenges, being a military spouse doesn’t have to translate to dreams deferred. I remember having to relocate to Italy from the United States right around the time I was about to secure a teaching position. When we arrived in Italy, my husband deployed and was away for the entire first year of our time there. It was difficult navigating a foreign country by myself, but I also saw it as an opportunity to further my professional growth through online education. 

With the uncertainty of military life and frequent deployments, online education is an invaluable resource for military spouses. An accredited, fully online Bachelor’s program, The American Women’s College, was created just for adult women and offers over 20 degrees in dynamic fields to afford military spouses the opportunity to seek higher education that is accommodating for their lifestyle. They even offer an accelerated program that allows you to get to the finish line quicker than the usual daunting 4 years. 

I especially love the convenience and flexibility of online education. I can complete my classes in the comfort of my living room.

When it was time to relocate to our next duty station, I was still enrolled online and had not yet completed my advanced degree. However, because it is online learning, the only challenge was figuring out time zones to ensure I met writing or participation deadlines. There were no hiccups or break in the education I was receiving because I was moving. 

Accessible education is golden for military spouses; it enables professional growth and a better quality of life. As a female, preserving my sense of self and independence are very important to me and pursuing higher education was a wonderful way for me to do so. I felt empowered to be able to attain such an accomplishment amidst the challenges of being a military spouse. 

After I completed my advanced degree online, and paired with my prior teaching experience, I was able to acquire a teaching position as a highly qualified teacher. Programs offered like the ones at The American Women’s College can help facilitate the professional growth of military spouses and I’m thankful these opportunities exist for us. xx

images: Lea Hartman

Maurices' Service With Style Campaign

A shero simply put is a female hero; a female who is courageous, exemplifies immense strength under stressful circumstances, and also manage s to give back to her community and family. Though I’ve never really referred to myself as a shero, I’ve been referred to as superwoman many times by close friends and family because of how easy I tend to make juggling family life as a military spouse, an educator, (now on a break), with a husband who deployed very frequently seem. Despite that, I was pleasantly surprised and honored to be recognized as a shero by Maurices as part of their #servicewithstyle campaign that highlights the work of military members, educators, working moms,


Today, I am thrilled to share with you some of the ways that I showcase #servicewithstyle in my everyday life.

This gorgeous jacket that can easily be dressed up or down from maurices.

As an educator with over 10 years experience (now on an hiatus) my service to my students, parents, and greater community was of paramount importance and work would usually spill over into my home life. You could usually find me working until the wee hours at home and although I do miss being in the classroom, service to my family had to take center stage as we faced multiple deployments as a military family.

Summery top from maurices

Being a military spouse can be very challenging and worsens when young children are involved. In my case, I wanted to help make my boys transitions throughout each deployment as easy as possible, so I came up with the idea to install a map wall in their bedroom. As a member of the Special Forces Operations my husband has seen more than his fair share of deployments. After about the 10th deployment, I stopped counting… Sometimes, we wouldn’t readily be able to communicate with him and this map mural helps us to feel connected.

Raising children who understand the importance of giving back, who have empathy, and compassion for others is very important to me. Several times throughout the year, the boys and I make a donation to our local Goodwill and they are very involved in the process. They’ll even set away toys and books that they no longer need for “donation day.”

Thank you maurices for making it possible for me to #servicewithstyle! Also, you can nominate someone in your life/community who you think is worthy of the title, #shero and who embodies #servicewithstyle for a chance to win $1,000 shopping spree for you and a friend. Find all the details here. xx

* This post is sponsored by maurices, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I Bet You Didn’t See it on the News…

I strive to do this most of the times, but today, I almost failed at my attempts at “finding the brighter side…”

As I get older, I realize that the thing I
value the most is good-heartedness.
— Alice Walker

    The week of love reverie that I started this week was drastically interrupted today with unsettling news. The type of unsettling news your heart senses is coming and leads you to fervently pray for your hubby and his comrades as you stand in your kitchen about to have your first cup of coffee. The kind of unsettling news that make you tuck your phone in the waist of your pants because you are sure you are going to get a call to confirm what your heart senses. This was my scenario this morning.   Although I hinted that we had entered deployment number 10 or 11 last year(I've lost count because there has been so many), my blog for the most part is devoid of the stresses of being a military spouse going through the umpteenth deployment.  As military families, we tend to be resilient and not show weakness.  We hate being pitied and at first glance, you probably think we have it all under control. However, that is a far cry from our reality.
 
     This brings me to the unsettling news that I bet you didn't hear about in the news.  When the call came like I sensed, it was brief and I learned that there was one fatality. I later learned that actually two heroes were killed and 4 of their brothers were injured. Though he is fine, my hubby was right there. I need not say more about the emotions that I have encountered today. On the day of departure for this deployment last year, one of the fallen heroes was with his family in the same parking lot as we were bidding farewell and sharing “see you soons…” And today my hubby had to place his body on a plane IN a CASKET.  

     I am disappointed that our heroes seem to not have a voice. I am disappointed to see people pretend there isn't a war.  I am disappointed that people don't care. The children, the families left behind are real.  All day today through intermittent tears, I watched my boys play and all I could see was their Dad. I saw his eyes in Z and little Ian is a muscle man just like him. I will not pretend and say I am fine because I am not. However, I will continue on in true military fashion.  I am very thankful for the outpouring love and support that I received via fb, twitter, texts, and phone calls this morning when I initially shared about the one fatality. That gives me hope to know that there are people who still give a damn.
 
  RIP to the fallen heroes and I pray for  full recovery for their wounded brothers. I also pray for the unsung heroes, the families of the fallen who are left behind. xx

Have a Great Memorial Weekend!

If you know a military vet, spouse, or family, thank them for their service.  The boys and myself are just over the moon that our own hero will be home to celebrate Memorial Day with us this year. Blessings and have a safe and enjoyable weekend my friends! XX

p.s. this pic is one of my faves. Thanks Lea.

Broken Hearted.

Barely home, and now he’s off again. The hubby is being whisked off to war again for another deployment and I’ve been an emotional wreck. We’re close to the ten times mark for the number of times that he’s left and I’d say that’s way too many for just one family. Enough is enough, don’t you think?  Wearing the title of army wife, military spouse is usually a great honour.  However,  it’s become quite burdensome and emotionally draining… 

P.S. On another note, most of you have been on a couple deployment journey with me, given me virtual hugs etc. Thank you. 

P. P.S. That’s my new wall paper in the background(in the powder room). When I’m in a better mood, I’ll show you the bathroom makeover. xx