Whether you are moving to a new country, an isolated posting, or your servicemember is deploying, I advise you to “grow where you are planted”.

Get involved, get busy. Or, as Tim Gunn says, “make it work”.

Reach out to other military spouses. Find deployment support groups, try the FRG, volunteer on post. Most posts have a community center where you will find postings for groups, classes, seminars and events.

Hey Molly my husband is looking into a career In the army, I don’t like the idea because he will never be home and could always be deployed and could die. I am 19 he is 26 years old and we have a 5 month old daughter I didn’t not sign up to be a military wife I don’t like the idea of moving every other year and not being able to see him everyday and then spending long time periods away from him I guess my question is what is being a military spouse really like….

So, in a study that will shock (sarcasm) anyone actually involved with the military…the Heritage Foundation has pointed out that our service members are actually more or less representative of the population in terms of education and family wealth (via Freakonomics Blog on the NYT). This is not news, as it supports prior studies that revealed the same information.
The Northeast is underrepresented, but most enlisted service members hail from middle class neighborhoods and are more likely to have achieved a higher level of education than their civilian counterparts.
So, while …

The winner of Mrs. Lieutenant from the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival is Jo, who asked:
Was your info on the four different wives taken from the lives of family and friends, or of strangers? Are you portraying yourself in one of the four women?
Phyllis Zimbler Miller responds to some reader questions:
Great questions! And instead of trying to answer all of them individually, I’m going to write overall replies that I hope will answer almost everything.
Background of Novel/Characters
I wrote this novel based on personal experiences I had in the spring of 1970 …

We had a lot of fun last time with our giveaway of a signed copy of Mrs. Lieutenant, by Phyllis Zimbler Miller. Check out her guest post about an Army Wife’s First Day.
So, for the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival we’re doing it again!
Mrs. Lieutenant is a great read for anyone who enjoys Vietnam-era historical fiction, stories about the life of a military spouse, or a book that explores the relationships between a group of diverse women.
To enter to win a copy, just leave a comment here by August 1, 2008, 11:59 …

For the military wife bloggers out there, or anyone whose husband is frequently gone on business trips, do you blog when the soldier is away from home? Do you feel you have enough anonymity or are you not concerned about any safety issues? Does it matter if he is away for a shorter or longer time? (I’m assuming male spouses don’t worry about this…but maybe I’m wrong.)
When DH was active duty, I always felt uncomfortable blogging about his absence while he was on field exercises…yet, I blogged …

Please welcome guest blogger Phyllis Zimbler Miller, author of Mrs. Lieutenant, who has a second novel, Mrs. Lieutenant in Europe, in progress.

Sharon Gold’s First Official Day as a Mrs. Lieutenant
Robert reemerges from the bedroom in his uniform, carrying his uniform hat, and stands in front of her for inspection. She wants to say “good luck.” The words stick in her throat – don’t these words imply the opposite is feared? She says: “You look terrific.”
And he does look terrific if you like men in uniforms.
He kisses her …

The Homefront Club: The Hardheaded Woman’s Guide to Raising a Military Family is essentially a much needed pep talk for Military Wives.
Author Jacey Eckhardt provides a way of looking at the life, not as a burden, not as a paradise, but simply as it is. Military Life, just like any other, has its ups and downs and its pros and cons, although the service does seem to heighten the highs and the lows.
The key to a happy life, military or otherwise, is how you view it. There are …

Welcome to the third edition of the (hopefully) growing Military Family Carnival.
Being part of the Military Family makes me thankful for…
Thanksgiving can be a beautiful celebration of all the blessings we enjoy. Many families lay the best table they can, express gratitude for the best of the year, and enjoy the company of family and close friends.
For many military families, this Thanksgiving will be spend apart from those they love most.
Last year on Thanksgiving, we had much cause for joy. My husband had returned home from Iraq, our daughter’s …

A reader posted this comment:
Does anyone have any advice? My brother is due to deploy overseas within a year and it is causing problems in his marriage. His family (young wife and 2 year old daughter) and my family moved half way across the country two years ago to forge a better life away from the West coast. Our father also lives here. We are all within minutes of each other. Now that he is due to deploy, his wife wants to move back in with her mother out west. …