By Amy Nielsen

Today was the last booth of our season for our local grass roots community flea market. Once a month I have been setting up a little booth there to get my name and face out and about in the community. I decided in the spring that I needed to find a way to study my community, to see who really lives here and who comes in the summer. This was one of the ways I chose.

I have had the pleasure of seeing several of the same local vendors month after month. Some I see around the county at the feed and seed or supermarket, others I know are snowbirds up for the summer, most originally from the area, who are soon to be packing up from the camp ground and moving to their southern roosts along the coasts of Florida and North Carolina.

I have tried several tactics each month to showcase different parts of what my practice offers. The last two have been a combination of bake sale for a national charity organization and business offerings table. Before that I showcased aspects as different as healthy eating, joyful exercise, and local partnership organizations I support.

I have a new shared office space and I spent today promoting that space along with the bake sale items for my chosen summer campaign. It was a fun day spent chatting with friends and familiar faces.

I was lucky enough to have my two daughters with me today. It was an opportunity to have them see me in action. All too often, when I ask my younger students what their parents do for a living, they are not able to articulate what it is they do. I think it is really important that kids see and understand at an age appropriate level what their caregivers do for a job.

I happen to really love what I do for a living and am blessed enough to have to opportunity to be working in my field and continuing my schooling at the same time. I also have chosen to homeschool our daughters. To that end, I was able to count today as a school day by allowing them to be in charge of the donation jar for our bake sale while I met new friends.

The day dawned cool and blustery with big puffy summer cloudy and deep blue skies. I shoveled everything for the booth in the car and zoomed out just as the girls were waking up. I arrived at the site and was greeted by my dear friend and event coordinator. I made my way to my spot and unloaded the booth set up.

Part of the reason I really like this event is that they ask the vendors to arrive early enough to have a leisurely set up time. As I have done this now several times, I have a system that works quickly to get the sun shade up and tied down easily and allows me to take the time to shuffle through my materials and feel out what kind of booth I feel like running for the day.

We were asked to use unbaked goods for our bake sale by the owners of the property. We made cookie mixes in a jar using the ultimate pinterest DIY project evening. They were very pretty and effective on the table.

The combination of holistic health coaching and a bake sale seems at first glance cross purposes, but the tie is that I teach kids meditation and the bake sale beneficiary is an organization supporting summer lunch programs for school age kids in our rural county.

The event started off at a slow trickle being middle of the morning on a Sunday in a rural church going community. Our regular summer crowd arrived right on cue about an hour after opening. There was a small lull in the action as everyone slowed for a long slow lunch at one of the area restaurants. The mid-afternoon crowd ended up being mostly newer deep city summer visitors too chilly to be on the lake or in the pool. Another quiet hour then the end of the day rush.

In the past few months, vendors have started to pack up as soon as the last of the fifty-fifty raffles is pulled. Today the weather was so beautiful and the crowd happy to part with a few more pennies, we all lingered a little long before starting to put away the first of the easy to pack trinkets.

By the time we had packed up the booth, the girls had sold three of our jars, two jump ropes and collected five straight donations to our cause. I had handed out four sets of class information and collected another three email addresses for my newsletter. I ran an informal poll and have decided on the next course of action for my practice.

My girls and I rounded up the evening at our local pizza joint then home for ice cream and scrabble. We are all looking forward to selling the remaining cookies in ajar to our friends online to round out our summer campaign. I am happy with the progress this summer project solicited and the ground I gained in being the newest kid on the block in our small rural community. All in all the few dollars I spent each month to pay for my space was well worth it.

By Jenna Moede

I told you all that I will head back for my Master’s this fall which I feel really excited about, but I’ve had a really hard time making that decision. 

See, I messed up my path to my Master’s degree in the past and since then I have totally shied away from going back.  

I know I want my Master’s, and I feel confident this time that I chose the right program to study, but I still feel like my confidence has taken a hit because of what happened before.  

A while ago, I started on my way to a Master’s program. I needed to lead into my program with a certificate because I had no measurable experience in my new field - nutrition. While it really counted as two different programs, since I planned to complete both, the programs merged in my mind. 

I picked my Master’s degree on a whim because I had always enjoyed learning about health, and all my friends already knew their graduate school and program or had already started so I felt a ton of pressure to just get moving on something, anything!  

Since I felt so rushed, I just enrolled at the university I finished my undergrad degree at which I hadn’t really wanted to go back to, and I found myself accepted and enrolled without much thought or reasoning. 

Coming from successfully earning my Bachelor’s, I really thought I had made the right decision, but even so, it all happened fast.  

Next thing I knew, I had taken out loans and paid for classes to hopefully land my dream job - a job that had only popped into my mind about a month before starting.  

I did no research and I asked no questions.  

For some reason, I felt I bothered my academic advisor when I asked anything at all.  

Finally, after my second semester I started questioning if this program really interested me and why I had started it in the first place.  

I didn’t want my friends to leave behind, but I also didn’t want to keep wasting money on something that wouldn’t help me in the future.  

I started asking for guidance from my advisor. Within a week of talking to her, I figured out that this program wouldn’t even help me get close to the job I thought I had started studying about.  

So, I gave up for a while.  

I didn’t finish the program but obviously still had to pay for it. I felt discouraged, disappointed and stuck. Within the next year, I watched my friends graduate with honors from their graduate schools, and I started to pull away from those connections.  

They reminded me of my failure in graduate school. During my period that I had off, I made a million excuses for why I didn’t have to go back, but I also discovered my passion for teaching and writing through actual experience, not just a hunch.  

As I gained a little perspective and felt less desperate, I realized I was the only thing holding me back anymore because I didn’t want to go back after everyone else had finished. 

So I made the decision to start the ball rolling in the direction of finishing my Master’s (again) but this time, I decided to do it all the right way.   

By Christine Cioppa

We all choose online learning for different reasons. Behind that decision is a motivating factor, most often a career-related one and sometimes a personal one.

Experts are studying why some of us gut it out, and why some of us quit or put it off -- for what seems indefinitely -- until we finally stick it out and achieve completion in our certificate or degree program.

What is known, though, are things to watch out for – things that can shake our motivation to the core or throw us off track.

Market research on students obtaining an online education shows that the desire to finish can wane when certain circumstances occur:

• Family circumstances change
• Money for school runs out
• Relevance of program content becomes unclear
• Interest in classes diminishes
• Time not as abundant after starting a new family
• Illness

A report by BestColleges.com listed additional roadblocks to success:

• Internet and technology access issues
• Maintaining minimum GPA
• Keeping up in pace to graduate in time
• Scheduling campus visits to support some portion of an online program

We can’t always control circumstances that delay our success, but we can do everything possible to continue to strive toward success.

If any of the above is an issue, or may become one, you can brace for it and look for possible solutions or work-arounds. Here are five ideas to start with:

Make Time for What’s Important

Let’s face it: What’s important to us, we will make time for. That goes for anything: the people in our lives, our activities, our school or work, our level of fitness and diet decisions, etc. It’s important to balance our lives. But, with collaboration from family and friends, we can set priorities that include the most important parts of our lives while also balancing the challenges of earning a higher degree. That may mean waking up earlier in the morning, or giving up a few favorite TV shows, or asking for help from others, but often it can be possible. Maybe a life crisis calls for dialing it back, or taking only one class instead of several. The key is finding a solution that keeps your education goal still in eyesight down the road. The most important thing is to just never quit if an education is important to you. The pride many of us feel with achieving a certificate or higher degree is so worth the marathon-like mindset we have to have to push past the exhaustion and discomfort we sometimes can feel, sprinting toward that finish line.

Reel in Discretionary Spending

One of the top reasons people quit is money. Of all the leisurely ways we spend money (cable TV, dinning out, food and/or alcohol, clothes/beauty products, etc.), there often is room to squeeze some more toward something else. And if not, there are student loans. Also, think about creative ways to help pay for school (working at a company that provides excellent tuition reimbursement, working for the university for discounts) to reduce the overall cost.

Boost Long-Term Earning Potential

Of all the ways we spend money, higher education pays us back in the long run – through employment opportunities and higher pay. The Department of Labor’s employment projections show that people who earn any type of higher education past the high school level are less unemployed than those who just finish high school or who don’t complete high school. And with every degree earned, the rate of pay significantly increases, topping out around a “professional” or “doctoral” degree. Weekly pay can double or even nearly triple with the highest degrees.

It’s not just about money; a degree shapes us. For many of us, it is who we are; we are lifelong learners. Former Vice President Joe Biden has famously said, “Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.”

Steer Clear of Complainers

If there’s not a lot of people striving for what you are, it’s time to find some like-minded, positive people to chat with. Negativity, within ourselves or around us, is completely unproductive and can make one lose sight of long-term goals. If your online program has a forum, embrace opportunities to collaborate with peers and cheer each other on. Don’t let the chronic complainers, in class or elsewhere in life, make you feel your goals or your classwork, is not as valuable or exciting as it can be. So team up with people who love school and who look for the best in others, and steely your resolution to complete your educational goals.

Never Quit

The most important thing is to never quit. When things get tough and life circumstances try to derail us, or doubt or negativity or discomfort make the challenge so much harder, just keep taking one step forward.  Richard Branson, creator of Virgin airlines, is an example of resilience. He says, “On every adventure I have been on – whether setting up a business, flying around the world in a balloon or racing across the ocean in a boat – there have been moments when the easy thing to do would be to give up. By simply not giving up, brushing yourself down and trying again, you'll be amazed what you can achieve.”

By Amy Nielsen

In my recent reentry into the world of work after an absence for motherhood, I have been casting about for a specific purpose. I am starting a new career in a different field than I had BM – Before Motherhood. I chose the career I did because I can’t help doing it every day. I fall into the service of health and healing with each conversation I hold. I am proud that I have been able to build a structure around something as amorphous as “wellness”.

However, translating that concept into a solid paying job has been a bit tougher. I finally figured out why. I have up to this point not had a specific job that I knew would fit what I am capable of doing. My pre-mom careers had nothing to do with my current profession. So while I have decades of experience, it’s not exactly the right experience. Then there’s that 10 year gap in my portfolio to deal with.

While I say I have gaps in my timeline, those gaps are only of a professional nature. I spent that time very actively volunteering for several organizations. That experience is valid and worthy of mention. I was still engaged in community and working with large non-profit organizations. So while the topics may not have been specifically tied to the work I am doing now, it can be used to support my current desire to work with a non-profit.

I have been networking over the last year in our local community in an effort to discover where the needs are and where I might be able to fit to fill them. What I have found is a good base for growth, but a deeply entrenched apathy for change. The will is there to jog but the butt can’t get off the couch, as it were.

I volunteer with a community activism non-profit organization which has begun the process of creating a spin off sister non-profit working to farther the exact campaigns I want to spearhead. It was announced late last year that they are in the active search for an executive director for the spin off. BINGO!

Now, I am nowhere near ready for prime time or executive directorship. I have read the requirements and description put out by the head hunting agency. With the gaps in my timeline and my previous unrelated career experience, there is no way I would even be considered as a candidate. Applying would be shear folly and probably make more than a few people question my sanity.

However, what I can do is make sure to stay close to those folks who are the movers and shakers creating the structure of the organization. By continually putting myself in the path of this group, I hope to be tapped to join the supporting team, eventually moving up once my degree is conferred.

I know it will take at least another year before the organization is ready to launch public programs, things typically move slowly in the non-profit world as grant funding is a long process.  To that end I will continue to volunteer and perhaps work in a supporting capacity in another like-minded organization until I am better positioned to apply for a position with more organizational responsibility. I know that I have time to work through the beginning semesters of graduate school without being worried that I will compromise my focus on my studies or my career.

My plan of study is two years long. By the time I finish the Master’s, the new spin off organization should be just about ready to jump into high gear, putting me in a good place to move up the food chain into a more senior position.

Two years from now seems like a hugely long time, but as I have kids, I know that two years is the blink of an eye and I had better be ready to hit the ground running if I want to keep up and be in the best place possible to launch into a full time position upon completion.

So while I work through school, and continue to volunteer, I have my sights set on a very specific job. It gives me purpose and drive to make sure I am the best positioned candidate when it comes time to apply. By joining the organization in its infancy, I can follow it through the early growing pains and be in a better place to help it move forward to greater heights.

So what if it happens that when I am ready for the job, the job isn’t ready for me? Well, I will have spent two years developing a career path and reputation within the community that will allow me to apply to other similar organizations. I will have watched this one grow and evolve and I can use that experience to build upon for other organizations. Heck, I might even feel ready at that point to start my own, filling a specific niche that the others don’t.

For now, I have clarity of purpose and a goal to drive towards which is more than I had a week ago. I can begin my Master’s program with a direct intention for its use. I know what I shape if not what color this is going to take and I can now formulate a plan to gather the best set of personal resources I can to make it happen. Today, I will hang the job description post on my bathroom mirror so I can keep it in my focus.

By Jenna Moede

Seize the day, right? I’ve heard it a million times as I know you probably have too, but I agree with it when it comes to college.

People get so hung up on the concept of time when they decide whether to go back to school. They have so many concerns and fears that it becomes overwhelming and ultimately, they decide not to pursue their degree.

But timing doesn’t have to control everything.

If I wait for the perfect time for everything, I will never accomplish anything because in my life the stars don’t typically align so that everything turns out perfectly.

I know a lot of people hope to keep a traditional school schedule - start in the fall and end in the spring.

If you have that mindset, seize the day! I feel fall peeking around the corner already so don’t put it off another year.

I’ve noticed that people with this mindset seem to push their goals to the backburner and let fall after fall go by without starting school.

If a traditional schedule matters to you, apply now. Start the admission process so that you can have everything set and ready with no surprises by the time the semester starts.

Admission doesn’t happen overnight so don’t waste your summer saying you’ll go back but then when push comes to shove let it go because you didn’t turn everything in on time.

It comes down to this: if not now, when? You could put it off another year, but I really want you to ask yourself what will change between now and then before you stall your goals.

Age stops a lot of people from applying too. A lot of spouses married their service members at young ages often at the same time their friends were beginning college.

While many college students pull all-nighters and pursue their dreams, military spouses deal with the challenges of moving, working, and maintaining balance. The sheer number of items on the to do list causes many spouses to put off thinking about college until after the stereotypical period of directly after high school.

That wait scares a lot of students off. They might never come out and say that they feel uncomfortable as the oldest in class, they feel rusty at studying or just that too much time has gone by, but they do find other reasons about why they have to wait.

If that’s you, think about what will change in another year. Will you be younger next year? Will your goals and dreams change?

Also, don’t forget that the average age of college students has increased according to recent studies so maybe you will meet other students in a similar boat!

I’ve watched several of my close friends graduate with their Master’s degrees since we’ve all finished our Bachelor’s, and I can’t help but feel left behind.

I always wanted to finish my Master’s degree, but it feels weird to start after so many people I knew from high school and college have already finished.

As much as I want to let this time excuse win, I’ve decided to quit letting timing dictate what I want. I will start my Master’s this fall. Will you join me for your certificate or degree?

While Congress argues over changes to Obamacare, military families are facing a change in medical care that was slid through Congress with little fanfare last year – but could have serious impact.

Beginning later this year active duty families will have to choose between Tricare Standard (soon to be called Tricare Select) or Tricare Prime which puts families into military treatment facilities only. Families will not be able to switch to a civilian Tricare Standard doctor and instead must wait until the next open enrollment period each year to do so.

Currently, family members who can’t get an appointment on base or who are unhappy with their doctor on base can simply call Tricare and request a civilian provider. Once open enrollment begins, families will be locked into the plan (military or civilian) for at least a year.

Officials said there will be qualifying life events such as marriage, birth and relocation that allow families the option to switch between the two plans, however the law did not outlaw what those events will be. The Defense Health Agency, which overseas Tricare, has not set those policies yet.

The move alarms military support organizations. The National Military Family Association posted on their website, “We’re concerned that an annual open enrollment period may effectively trap military families in the MTF, regardless of the problems they experience with access or quality of care.”

To learn more about the Tricare program, visit http://www.military.com/benefits/tricare

By Amy Nielsen

When I graduated from my professional certification program I hadn’t finished the legal business part of starting a business. The course I took was specifically about the coaching part of the business.

My next step is to finish up business process. This is the part that scares the heck out of me.

What I mean to say is it makes me feel like a real live adult. With responsibilities. It means I have to step up to the plate and be seen. It means owning the good and the bad, because there will be mistakes along the way. It will take courage to make it through this next few steps. Courage, the root word means heart and the word entire means to live your story with your whole heart.

The whole process of starting a small business is nothing more than taking a microscope to your core personal beliefs and offering them up for others to discuss. Whether you are a hair stylist, accountant, or candlestick maker, your business must follow your core beliefs or it won’t last very long. If you are conflicted about what you are offering, your client base will be confused as well. Clarity in your vision is imperative.

Thus the being seen part. I have always made an excellent second. I can see another’s vision and get to the nitty gritty of the flow of it and make it relatable to other people. Which is to say, I am a great follower. I know what I believe in and I find people who tell that story well. I am good at clarifying other’s ideas. But being a follower means I don’t have to examine my story very hard if I use someone else’s voice to speak it.

These next formal legal business formation steps force me to speak my own story. I have to choose what narrative I want to live. I have lived a bit of an unbelievable life. I have been afforded some extraordinary opportunities. I have lived several narratives already. In some ways this new piece feels very much like a coming of age, a rite of passage, and a milestone of momentous proportions even among those experiences. I feel like this next narrative is somehow weightier than those before.

I come from a line of entrepreneurs, both successful and unsuccessful – though that never stopped ‘em. My family is full of CEOs, COOs, Chairmen (and women), Foundation Presidents, and all and sundry positions in every imaginable part of a not-for-profit one could imagine. Some of these are very large well known organizations, some are tiny little niche projects.

My dad even taught the subject for a large state university while I was in college. I have a long history from a very young age of volunteering and being voluntold to participate in these organizations. The vast majority of them were founded by said family members.

Yet, somehow, I haven’t the slightest idea how the business and organizations actually get started or run on a day-to-day basis. I feel like I am the worker bee who just can’t figure out how to get into the hive door. I feel like somehow I should just - know. By osmosis I guess. Somehow I feel like I wasn’t paying enough attention to the details. Of course I was busy growing up and stuff, but it’s a tape I hear play when I think about starting my own organization.

This weird “you should know” fear is so large that I have spent hours reading things online rather than seeking out actual human beings to ask for help. Because somehow from my history, I should know this stuff, right? I honestly don’t think I would feel this way if my family members worked for other people for their career paths. Sometimes living on the cultural fringe brings up strange reflexes.

This is the part where the universe says, girl, how much do you really want this? Are you a man or a mouse? Are you going to pout about all the fruit hanging in the high branches of the tree next door or are you going to dig deep and water your own roots?

My current convenient procrastination from jumping off the legal business cliff is my financial aid package for graduate school. This week I finalize the application for financial aid for my Master’s degree, another step closer to fitting the pieces of the larger business puzzle together. Part of my business plan involves needing credentials that stand up as the leader of the kind of organization I want to build. Taking the step to accept the admissions offer for this fall felt like the beginnings of a big step into being recognized, into being seen and heard for my own ideas.

Once I have that in place and know if I am going to school in the fall or if I will be less encumbered, then I can move forward with the business. I feel like it’s a bit of a procrastination to say I have to wait to hear from school, but I don’t want to expend the slim resources I have. Here’s where the library is going to come in handy.

When I turn to my community to search out all of the assistance I keep hearing about online and in advertisements, I find that our rural area only wants to talk to someone with larger aspirations than I have at this current juncture. I’m heading to the library to check out the “Small Business Start Ups for Dummies” book in hopes that finally I might find a starting point. Our library also offers occasional free classes on small business topics.

At some point I will have to face my story, decide my voice, and use it. Whether it is now or later, I feel the personal pressure to get this out to the world will outweigh the fears I have about how much I really don’t know about the business of business. I know that I will have to face this fear if I want to succeed in supporting those people I want to reach. Until then, I will start desensitizing myself to the idea by reading up on the subject. Preferably in the dark, under the covers, with a flashlight.

By Jenna Moede

Students need to have a way to let off steam after a long hard semester. Summer vacation provides an opportunity for that.

However, before you just sleep in late or relax inside, think about all the ways the outdoors can provide relaxation.

NPR recently released a study about the Japanese tradition of forest bathing. Forest bathing doesn’t literally involve bathing, instead someone who forest bathes focuses on immersing themselves in the forest with no preplanned destination while taking in the sights and smells and involving all their senses.

Why do it? Simple. Studies have shown that forest bathing reduces stress, reduces blood pressure and helps people incorporate physical activity into their lives leading to some other health benefits.

We all understand the stress of juggling the military life with college so reducing stress and relaxing (with the bonus of health benefits) can only help us handle it all.

I like to visit state and national parks as a way of getting outside and relieving stress, and as it turns out, they offer excellent places to forest bathe.

If you want to give forest bathing a try, seek out a park in your area. Don’t worry, if you don’t feel forest bathing calling your name, you can find so many other activities to help you refocus or reduce stress.

First, if you don’t know how to locate a park near you, check out stateparks.com. On this website, you can select a state and then choose your park on a list of state parks, national parks, national forests and national recreation areas among others.

When you select a park, the site offers information about the history, directions, activities and even lodging. Talk about making it easy!

Along with the opportunity to try forest bathing, state parks have a vast variety of other activities to enjoy including hiking, fishing, biking, boating, camping and even special events.

The closest state park to my home, Curt Gowdy State Park, provided a guide-led New Year’s Day hike bright and early in the morning. Needless to say we showed up nice and early to start our new year with some relaxation and head clearing activities plus a few falls into some fresh snow.

They even have a special event in the summer where they give out free fishing poles to kids and teach fishing workshops. The special activities always blow me away so once you pick a state park to visit, take the time to look into their upcoming events.

Some state park systems run discounts for military so make sure to ask when you pay your entrance fee.

If you chose to visit a national park, military members have free admission to the national park system. If you don’t already have a National Park Pass, the military member can ask at any park entrance and will need to show his or her ID card. The passes stay active for a year before you’ll need to ask for a new one.

While I plan to give forest bathing a shot during the last month or so of summer vacation, I encourage you to open the door and visit a state park even if just for the sake of exploring.

Head into the forest and let go of your semesters in the past, enjoy the present moment to reduce stress and think about how to make the next semester smooth and successful. I know I reflect best in the quiet of the woods.

By Amy Nielsen

Never in a million years did I think I would be going to graduate school. But here I am, with an acceptance letter in my inbox and the FAFSA application open in the next tab over. Now what? How is this all going to fit in to the already topsy-turvey life we lead?

I recently completed a professional certification with the intent on following on with this master’s program. I specifically went through the certification so that I could do a follow on school through one of their many articulation agreements with institutes of higher learning who have complete online master’s programs to support my professional goals.

However, the state of New York made the decision to disallow online master’s programs for accreditation midway through my certification schooling. The institute I was to follow on to was such a program.

This left me hanging. I had to either find a program with a partial residency program that would accept my certification, continue on with my career plans and sort out a different solution to credentialing, or sit tight and wait for the illustrious state of New York to get its act together. In early June, the institute completed compilation and accreditation for a new partial residency program that meets New York States requirements.

HUZZAH! So when was it going to be open for us to apply? When were the residency dates? What courses of study were accepted into the partial residency program, since not all of the master’s programs met the requirements. Time to sit back and wait again.

I received an email from the institute’s registrar 16 days before the application due date. Nothing like making a fast decision about the next two years and a whole lotta debt to incur in a very short amount of time.

Luckily my husband was home when I opened and read the email and we were able to take a collective family breath and decided I had to go for it now and not defer. It means we will have two adult fulltime students in the house at the same time, but since we homeschool our kids, it means we all sit at the table and school together.

Once we made the decision that I would bite the bullet and apply I realize the logistical nightmare I had just waded into. I had done nothing yet to apply to this school as we had no idea when or if New York would ever accept this program.

Not to mention I needed transcripts and it was the Friday before July 4^th. Every office I needed to contact was operating on a different schedule.

In the end it was painless to apply to graduate school. When I last applied for college, you had to rip the application out of the book, type in the answers or – gasp - handwrite them, and then send it with three sealed letters of recommendation, sealed official high school transcripts, a typed essay, your SAT score reports ,and of course the money order deposit, in one package, in the mail.

Now, online autofill applications are a breeze. That is nothing to say for electronic official transcripts and letter of recommendation portals.

Within seventy-two hours of opening the letter I had a fully submitted application to a master program I wasn’t sure was ever going to be able to happen.

Within thirty-six hours of the application deadline, a week after submitting my application, I had my answer.

I’m going to graduate school for a master’s of science!

Now the real fun begins, because in the week that I was waiting to hear about my application, I met with the owner of a small studio space. I wanted to rent out time in her office to see my clients and hold small classes. She needs someone to use the space in the morning and my schedule preference is in the morning. It is a perfect fit - schedule wise. We hit it off great and have very similar philosophies in practice. I pick up my key next week and can begin seeing clients in the space the following week.

The universe just couldn’t leave well enough alone though.

Last night my darling husband messaged me that the long awaited and much anticipated schedule change at his place of employment is in fact really happening and our whole day, not to mention year, will need to be reworked to accommodate this new rotating schedule. That will begin next week.

Um.

I teach breathing - so breathe.

HUM.

Today I plan to finish writing this blog, fill out the FAFSA federal student loan application, try to understand this weird rotation thingy, then take a very long walk in the woods.

Tomorrow I will pull down the calendar, write out the new work schedule, which is always a moving target, and see where the chips fall.

Regardless, we have two adults in undergraduate or graduate school, two kids in elementary school and a business on the verge or tipping into something real if I can just hang on to the roller coaster.

So watch this space. A lot more is coming down the pike, and I think the breaks are out.  As my dear compass mentor taught me, “Sempre Gumbi” (Always be flexible).

By Salute to Spouses staff

Thousands of military members have been evacuated from Texas, Georgia and Florida for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Many have and will return home to destruction.

As families try to assess the damage, salvage what they can and return to a new normal, there is lots of help in place from military organizations. Here is a rundown of information from Blue Star Families and Military.com.

Evacuation Entitlements

Military families ordered to evacuate (including those in the Florida Keys) will be reimbursed for mileage, lodging, meals and accidentals. However, this is only true if the proper authorities ordered a family to evacuate. For more information on evacuation entitlements visit

https://paycheck-chronicles.military.com/2017/09/03/evacuation-entitlements/

Tricare

During natural disasters, Tricare regularly puts in place a "state of emergency" in impacted areas.

Tricare users in all counties in Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Georgia and some counties in Texas can access emergency prescriptions refills at any Tricare network pharmacy.

Those counties are: Aransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bexar, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Colorado, Comal, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kerr, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Live Oak, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Polk, Refugio, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Waller, Walker, Washington, Wharton, Wilson and Willacy.

Specialty care referral requirements have also been waived for all Tricare users all counties in Florida in some counties in Texas.

To be seen by a medical provider, beneficiaries simply need to make an appointment with a provider wherever they are. Those Texas counties are: Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Brazos, Burleson, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Brazoria, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Live Oak, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Polk, Refugio, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Waller, Walker, Washington, Wharton and Wilson.

In South Carolina those counties are, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry, Jasper.

In Georgia those counties are Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh.

The situation is constantly changing so check the Tricare website for up-to-date details.

GI Bill

Typically, Post-9/11 GI Bill housing allowance payments require that you are in school continuously. When school breaks or classes are out, the housing payment is prorated to reflect that change.

Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that most people using the GI Bill at a school that has been temporarily closed due to the hurricane will still receive housing allowance payments as if nothing had happened.

VA Hospitals, Clinics

Hurricane Harvey

Across impacted areas in Texas, some community health and outpatient Department of Veterans Affairs clinics are closed as a result of the storm. The Houston VA Medical Center, however, is open and fully operational, officials posted on that facility's website.

A series of mobile vet centers to provide counseling services were being deployed to impacted areas, such as Corpus Christi, or have been placed on standby, according to VA officials. Within the area impacted by Harvey are over 510,000 veterans and 115 VA clinics, they said.

A series of mobile vet centers to provide counseling services were being deployed to impacted areas, such as Corpus Christi, or have been placed on standby, according to VA officials. Within the area impacted by Harvey are over 510,000 veterans and 115 VA clinics, they said.

The VA has also put in place their Pharmacy Disaster Relief Plan. Eligible veterans with a VA ID Card who need an emergency supply of medications can go to any CVS or HEB pharmacy with a written prescription or active VA prescription bottle to receive a 14-day supply. Veterans who need assistance can also call the Heritage Health Solutions Veterans Help line at 1-866 265-0124 to speak to a representative, officials said.

Hurricane Irma

Veterans from storm-affected areas who require immediate assistance may contact the Health Resource Center Disaster Hotline at 1-800-507-4571.

For the latest updates on operations at specific VA facilities and associated clinics, please visit your facility’s website and the Facebook pages listed below. Information provided on the facility pages may be more current than what is posted here.

Caribbean facilities:

• VA Caribbean Healthcare System (website)  –  VA Caribbean Healthcare System (Facebook page)
  • With the exception of the St. Thomas clinic, all VA Caribbean facilities have resumed normal operating hours. More Details
• San Juan Regional Benefit Office (website)
  • The VA San Juan Regional Benefit Office has reopened
• Puerto Rico National Cemetery (website)
  • Puerto Rico National Cemetery will has reopened.

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina medical facilities:

• Miami VA Medical Center (website) – Miami VAMC (Facebook page)
  • Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 13, the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center (the main hospital) will be fully operational. More Details
  • William “Bill” Kling VA Clinic in Broward County – Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 13, the clinic will be fully operational with the exception of GI procedures
  • Hollywood VA Clinic – Primary Care, Mental Health for walk-ins only
  • Pembroke Pines CBOC – Open for normal operations.
  • The following community clinics remain closed through Tuesday, September 12:
    • Deerfield Beach CBOC
    • Homestead CBOC
    • Key West OPC
    • Key Largo CBOC
    • Flagler Street
• West Palm Beach VA Medical Center (website) – West Palm Beach VAMC (Facebook page)
  • The West Palm Beach VA Medical Center is fully operational.More Details
    • Delray Beach CBOC – Closed
    • Stuart CBOC – Closed
    • Clewiston CBOC – Closed
    • Moorehaven CBOC – ClosedThe following clinics remain closed.  All others are operational
• North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (website) – North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (Facebook page)
  • Gainesville VAMC and Lake City VAMC are fully operational. More Details
  • Clinic Status:
    • Jacksonville (all locations) – Beginning Wednesday, September 13, fully operational
    • Lecanto CBOC – Open
    • Marianna CBOC – Open
    • Ocala West – Open
    • Ocala Cascades – Closed
    • Palatka CBOC – Open
    • Perry Outreach Clinic – Closed
    • St. Augustine CBOC – Beginning Wednesday, September 13, fully operational
    • St. Marys (GA) CBOC – Beginning Wednesday, September 13, fully operational
    • Tallahassee HCC – Open
    • The Villages OPC – Open
    • Valdosta CBOC – Beginning Wednesday, September 13, fully operational
    • Waycross CBOC – Beginning Wednesday, September 13, fully operational
• Bay Pines VA Medical Center (website) – Bay Pines VAMC (Facebook page)
  • The C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center (main hospital) outpatient services, elective procedures and surgeries remain suspended.  The emergency department remains closed. More Details
  • All clinics remain closed.  Patients with appointments will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
• Tampa VA Medical Center (website) – Tampa VAMC (Facebook page)
  • The James A. Haley Veterans Hospital (main hospital) is fully operational. More Details
  • The New Port Richey Dental Clinic is open.  All other New Port Richey VA facilities remain closed.
  • In Tampa, the Mental Health, Audiology and Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinics remain closed.
  • All other clinics are open for normal operations.
• Orlando VA Medical Center (website) – Orlando VAMC (Facebook page)
  • The Lake Nona hospital and campus are fully operational. More Details
  • The following clinics remain closed.  All others are operational.
    • New Port Richey Eye Clinic – Closed
    • Tampa Audiology and Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinics – Closed
• Charleston VA Medical Center (website) – Charleston VAMC (Facebook page)
  • The Charleston VAMC Emergency Department will be fully operational during the weather event along with the required staff to support remaining inpatient care for approximately 70 inpatients. All outpatient clinics and non-essential services will remain closed through Tuesday, Sept. 12 in order to ensure the maximum safety of our Veterans, staff, and their families. The main facility in downtown Charleston and its outpatient clinics, with the exception of the Goose Creek VA Outpatient Clinic, are expected to reopen for normal operations on Wednesday, Sept. 13. More Details
• Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (website) – Gulf Coast Veterans HCS (Facebook page)
  • The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System’s outpatient clinics near Eglin Air Force Base, in Panama City Beach and in Pensacola will be closed Sept. 11. More Details
• Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center – Augusta (website) – Augusta VA (Facebook page)
  • The director of the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center has ordered the closure of the Statesboro, Ga., clinic Tuesday, Sept. 12, and a limited closure of the Athens, Ga., clinic on the same day.The Athens clinic will open at 1 p.m., Sept. 12, and is not a full-day closure. More Details
• Atlanta VA Health Care System (website) – Atlanta VA (Facebook page)
  • The Atlanta VA Medical Center and its outpatient clinics anticipate reopening for normal operations on Wednesday, Sept. 13 though impacts of weather may delay some openings. All previously cancelled appointments will be rescheduled.Clinics Opened
    • Trinka Davis Veterans Village
    • Ft. McPherson VA Campus
    • Fulton County VA Clinic
    • Newnan VA Clinic
    • Stockbridge VA Clinic
    • Austell VA Clinic
    • Gwinnett County VA Clinic
    • Lawrenceville VA Clinic
    • Rome VA Clinic
    • Blairsville VA Clinic

Clinics Closed – due to continued power outage

• Atlanta VA Clinic (Arcadia)
• Henderson Mill VA Clinic
• Oakwood VA Clinic

• Carl Vinson VA Medical Center – Dublin, Georgia (website) – Dublin VA (Facebook page)
  • The Brunswick VA Clinic is CLOSED to evacuate for Hurricane Irma and is expected to re-open Sept. 13 or 14. All community clinics will be closed Monday, Sept. 11 but are expected to re-open Tuesday, Sept. 12. The Dublin VA Medical Center is cancelling outpatient appointments for Monday Sept. 11 but expects to resume normal operations Tuesday, Sept. 12. More Details
• Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (website) – VA Central Alabama (Facebook page)
  • All of Central Alabama Health Care System hospitals and clinics will be fully operational Tuesday, Sept. 12. More Details.

VA Regional Benefits Offices

• Atlanta Regional Benefits Office (website)
  • The Atlanta Regional Benefit Office outbased locations in Fort Stewart/Savannah, GA and Fort Gordon/Augusta, GA are closed Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. We will continue to monitor this weather system for Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 and update information soon as possible.  The Atlanta Regional Office (main office) will remain closed at this time.  More Details
• St. Petersburg Regional Benefit Office (website)
  • The St. Petersburg Regional Officeand all outbased offices will reopen to employees on Wednesday, Sept. 13. All locations will reopen to Veterans and their families on Thursday, Sept. 14.

VA National Cemeteries

• Sarasota National Cemetery (website)
  • Sarasota National Cemetery is closed on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
• Bay Pines National Cemetery (website)
  • Bay Pines National Cemetery is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 12 and 13.
• Florida National Cemetery (website)
  • Florida National Cemetery is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 12 and 13.
• Cape Canaveral National Cemetery (website)
  • Cape Canaveral National Cemetery  anticipates reopening on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 8 a.m.
• Beaufort National Cemetery (website)
  • Beaufort National Cemetery is closed on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

Vet Centers

• VA Vet Centers –  updated information on Vet Center operating status in the affected region.
  • U.S. Virgin Islands:
    • St. Croix – Open
    • St Thomas – Closed
  • Puerto Rico:
    • San Juan – Open
    • Ponce – Open
    • Arecibo – Providing Services at Arecibo CBOC
  • Florida:
    • Miami Vet Center – Closed
    • Naples Vet Center – Closed
    • Fort Lauderdale Vet Center – Closed
    • Pompano Beach Vet Center – Closed
    • Palm Beach Vet Center – Closed
    • Jupiter Vet Center – Closed
    • Melbourne Vet Center – Closed
    • Tampa Vet Center – Closed
    • St. Petersburg Vet Center – Closed
    • Sarasota Vet Center – Closed
    • Clearwater Vet Center – Closed
    • Fort Myers Vet Center – Closed
  • Georgia:
    • Savannah Vet Center – Closed Sept. 9 thru 12
  • South Carolina
    • Charleston Vet Center – Closed Sept. 9 thru 12Myrtle Beach Vet Center – Closed Sept. 9 thru 12

VA Pharmacy Disaster Relief Plan

VA has activated the Pharmacy Disaster Relief Plan for Veterans in Hurricane Irma impact areas. Eligible Veterans in the affected areas with a VA ID Card needing emergency supply of medications will be able to go to any retail pharmacy open to the public with a written prescription or active VA prescription bottle (not older than 6 months and with refills available) to receive at least a 10 day supply. Note: This does not include controlled substances. Patients must present a valid VA ID Card.

The Heritage Health Customer Care Line is available for VA patients in the affected areas at 1-866-265-0124, option 1. Heritage’s hours of operations for hurricane coverage: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET

VA Benefits

VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration has mechanisms to help Veterans receive their benefit payments if their normal mail cannot be delivered:

• Veterans can sign up for direct deposit on eBenefits.
• Veterans can call 1-800-827-1000 to sign up for direct deposit.
• The Direct Express Cardless Benefit Access program is offering beneficiaries who use Direct Express and reside in the affected area the option to obtain cash without their card, up to $1,000.
  • The service is being offered free of charge; however, due to system limitations, a fee will be charged and then refunded to the beneficiary. The beneficiary will be asked to go to a MoneyGram store to retrieve the funds.  If the beneficiary is unable to locate a MoneyGram store in operation in his/her area, the funds will be placed back on the Direct Express card.
  • MoneyGram agents will require ID before releasing funds.  They will accept a passport, driver’s license, military identification card, social security card and/or state identification card.  The beneficiary must also have a MoneyGram reference number (provided by the Direct Express Call Center).
  • Contact the Direct Express Call Center toll-free number, 1-888-741-1115, and offer to transfer the caller.  Callers must choose the “Direct Express Cardless Benefit Access” option on the IVR.