Have You Heard?!?

My Military Lifestyle

TRAVEL

I didn’t expect a PCS stopover to feel like an actual vacation, but that’s exactly what happened when the dogs and I checked into the Kona Kai Resort in San Diego. If you’ve ever PCS’d with a dog, you know the standard: cramped rooms, weird carpet smells, and taking your pet out through six hallways and an elevator at 2 a.m. None of that happened here. It felt like we accidentally booked a getaway...

My Military Lifestyle

RESOURCES

Warmer weather also means longer days. More daylight is great for everyone. There’s more time to go to the local pool, play 9 or 18 holes, make a mud run, or whatever is your idea of fun or relaxation. If nothing else, you can simply sit outside and enjoy the sunlight on your face. I prefer to do so with a cold beer, but that’s just me. Longer days are also much better for going to theme parks. Ex...

My Military Lifestyle

HOME & FAMILY

There’s a shift that happens when you put on the uniform. Memorial Day stops being just a long weekend. It stops being about sales, lake plans, or the unofficial start of summer. It becomes quieter. Heavier. More intentional. When you wear the uniform, you don’t just know what the day means...you feel it. You’ve stood in formation during ceremonies where the air felt still in a way you can’t expla...

My Military Lifestyle

CAREER & POST-CAREER

When people hear “part-time military,” they often picture one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. Most National Guard members know that’s rarely reality. You’re balancing a civilian career, military obligations, family responsibilities, and the possibility that your schedule could change overnight. Whether it's a state activation, a deployment, additional schools, or a natural disaster re...

My Military Lifestyle

CAREER & POST-CAREER

This month I’m going to cover a benefit many veterans and their families have never heard of: Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (CAFC). With this program, the VA pays qualified family members for the time and effort they put into providing Personal Care Services for their disabled veteran spouse, parent, etc. Personal Care Services are services a Veteran needs help with from another p...

My Military Lifestyle

RESOURCES

As military families, we are blessed to have a variety of FREE resources available to us throughout our military journey. We have pulled together some of the most common ones to have all in one place for you to save. Crisis Resources:Veterans Crisis LineDiscover More: veteranscrisisline.netCall: 988, then Press 1Text: 838255Emergency ServicesCall 911Visit your nearest emergency roomMilitary Resour...

My Military Lifestyle

RESOURCES

Military life is full of moments that shape us. Some are exciting, like arriving at a new duty station, welcoming a new family member, celebrating a promotion, or preparing for a new opportunity. Others can be more challenging, including deployments, financial stress, relationship changes, caregiving responsibilities, mental health struggles, or the transition from military to civilian life. No ma...

My Military Lifestyle

HOME & FAMILY

Okay, let me tell you this now like a big sister would, because nobody really explains this part of Guard life beforehand. Wearing the uniform on the Fourth of July feels a little emotional in the weirdest way. Not dramatic. Not movie-scene emotional. Just this quiet moment where you look around and realize, “Oh. This is actually part of me now.” While everybody else is posting fireworks pictures,...

My Military Lifestyle

RESOURCES

Let me just say this upfront, because I wish someone had said it to me like this. Annual Training will humble you real fast when it turns you into a solo parent. I don’t mean that in a dramatic way. I mean in the very real, very unfiltered, “How am I doing all of this by myself right now?” kind of way. Whether you’re the one leaving or the one staying, something shifts. The balance you’re used to ...

My Military Lifestyle

RESOURCES

Warmer weather also means longer days. More daylight is great for everyone. There’s more time to go to the local pool, play 9 or 18 holes, make a mud run, or whatever is your idea of fun or relaxation. If nothing else, you can simply sit outside and enjoy the sunlight on your face. I prefer to do so with a cold beer, but that’s just me. Longer days are also much better for going to theme parks. Ex...

My Military Lifestyle

HOME & FAMILY

There’s a shift that happens when you put on the uniform. Memorial Day stops being just a long weekend. It stops being about sales, lake plans, or the unofficial start of summer. It becomes quieter. Heavier. More intentional. When you wear the uniform, you don’t just know what the day means...you feel it. You’ve stood in formation during ceremonies where the air felt still in a way you can’t expla...

My Military Lifestyle

FINANCE

This month, we’re going to cover how to set up your Survivor Benefit Plan or SBP. For those unfamiliar with the term, the SBP provides a monthly payment to a surviving spouse or other qualified family member for Active Duty personnel and Veterans. The Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) provides the same benefit for the families of deceased members of Reserve and Guard units. Each serv...