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Showing posts with label Julie the Army Wife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie the Army Wife. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

'Me' Time When Your Husband is Deployed


We are excited to feature some great advice by those who live the Army life each day: Soldiers and their Families. We will be bringing you their stories, advice, tips, ideas and more, right here at the Army Well-Being blog.

Today's guest blogger is Julie of the blog, "Julie the Army Wife: Daily Ramblings from the Wife of a Soldier."

One question I tend to get asked by my non-military friends is, “Do you ever get any time to yourself during the deployment?” And my answer is “Yes!”

My husband has been home from Iraq 3 months as of tomorrow. It has been awesome! Sometimes the deployment seems like it was such a long time ago. One nice thing about having him home is being able to get out for some “me” time without the kids and without having to find childcare or a babysitter. However, when he is gone? Well it is a little harder to be able to get out by myself.

During this past deployment I had a close friend that I traded babysitting with. This is ideal because you can both help each other out in the same way. It can take some planning but it can be a great way to have some time alone.

At our old post, we had a scrapbooking night once a month. They would usually have a babysitter on site in a playroom, which was nice. You had to pay for that but it was still very nice to be able to scrapbook with the ladies.

Family has been wonderful to help out too. This past summer I stayed with my parents and was able to have some time alone at least once a week.
There is also the CDC. During both deployments, we got a bunch of free hours. It was very nice.

There are also places like PWOC and our Hospitality house that have childcare available.

Ideally, I would love to have a regular babysitter. Probably a college age girl who could come one night a week. When my husband is home we could have a date night and when he was not I could have some time to myself.

Sometimes just getting out and going to the library/coffee shop, treating myself to ice cream or going on a photo walk for a few hours can totally refresh me!

Another thing I try to do during a deployment is being firm about bedtime. I had to have a few hours to myself each night. I love my children with all my heart but it was nice to tuck them into bed and go grab a bowl of ice cream or go put on a movie.

How do you find time to get away and relax? How do you find “me” time during deployment?

~ Courtesy http://juliethearmywife.blogspot.com/

For more information, visit Army Well-Being: Deployment Resources.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Life of a Military Child

As we near the end of the Month of the Military Child, we want to share this blog post from guest blogger, Julie of the blog, "Julie the Army Wife: Daily Ramblings from the Wife of a Soldier." 

We appreciate the sacrifices of our youngest heroes and with this blog post, say "Thank You" not only during "Month of the Military Child," but always.

The military child lives a very special life. They start serving their country from day one. They have to say goodbye to daddy (or mommy) more times than a child should. They have to say goodbye to friends all the time.

They have to be the new kid every 2-5 years. They usually don’t get to grow up around grandparents or cousins. Sometimes it can be years between seeing family. Daddy might have missed their birth, first steps, first day of Kindergarten or high school graduation. And anything in between. The children of the military are the little heroes.

They get to see the world and meet all types of different people. They get to experience so many different things. I can sometime ask my oldest son if he remembers that time we walked on an airfield in Newfoundland at 3 in the morning. I can ask my 3 year old if he can possibly remember anything about living in Germany.

I often wonder what kind of mom I would be if my husband never had to go away? I wonder what our Family would be like? This lifestyle isn’t easy, but it is ours. The good with the bad. All I can do is help my children through what they may have to face. And pray that daddy won’t have to deploy as often in the future.

Send Julie a comment!


~ Courtesy of "Julie the Army Wife: Daily Ramblings from the Wife of a Soldier."

For more information, news, and resources for Army kids, visit Army Well-Being: Army Kids.

Do you have an Army story to share?  Please email us at:  armywellbeing@gmail.com with your blog name and we will send you information on becoming a guest blogger!