“Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life.”
This is a quote that military spouse and entrepreneur, Alexa Smith, the founder of Stroller Strong Moms, LLC, in Columbus, GA and Savannah, GA, has taken to heart. This mother of three is a proud Army wife to her husband, Tony, and a current resident of Savannah, GA.
Each year, some 300,000 service members and their families PCS from one duty station to another. We’ve all done it, some more than others. And after a few times of prepping all your stuff to be packed, dutifully watching the movers box it up and load the truck, and then watching that truck drive away with your precious belongings, you think you’ve got it down.
Ted was anxious about moving away from home.
Granted, he was only going three hours away, but he had never known anything but his house, his bed and his mother, whom he lived with.
But the day had come, and off he went - his bed, dishes, prized toys and a picture of his mom and him in tow.
Plus, four, 50-pound bags of kibble and two giant trash-cans on wheels to hold it.
Ted clearly wasn’t going to starve.
But the beloved mutt’s life was going to be different. His owner, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, had set off on a long deployment.
It’s happening.
Several years ago as the drawdown of American forces in Iraq became a reality, large non-profits began discussing the inevitable turn of public attention that would come with it. With no troops deployed to high profile locations, the donations, they feared, would dry up.
By Tiffany Shedd
After I earned my graduate degree in 2004, my thoughts were on finding a job or getting into a Ph.D. program. Little did I know, I was only a few days away from meeting my future husband and having my world, and my idea of home, completely rocked. Ten years later, we’ve crisscrossed the country as we PCSed from Fort Campbell, KY to Fort Wainwright, AK and back to the east coast to Fort Bragg, NC.
So here we are again, and it’s time to say, ‘See you later,’ to another blog. My sweet readers, you have become some of my closest friends over the last couple of years. You have seen me through some of my best and worst times and I have been happy to share those times with you. I am a firm believer in that we are stronger together than we are apart.
I don’t know anyone who owns a map.
Heck, I’m starting to think I don’t know anyone who owns a GPS that isn’t embedded in their car or their cell phone.
Editor’s Note: Salute to Spouses’ writer Samantha Carroll graduated college once - and went back years later to earn a second degree in nursing. Her return to campus was exhausting, thrilling and worth every moment. Please enjoy her personal story about going back to school and starting a brand new career.
My son is only in sixth grade, but he’s deeply embroiled in the “what to do when I grow up” debate. It’s no surprise to us that the boy who devours biographies of world leaders, prefers History Channel documentaries to cartoons and owns thousands of historically accurate tin soldiers is leaning toward studying military history or archeology.
One thing I have continuously been working at as a military spouse has been asking for help. Since I have had children, I have had to own that fact that I cannot do it all. And sometimes, it’s ok to ask for help.
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