By: Mary Ridenoure, LMSW  Life is full of unexpected twists and turns; this is not a surprise for a military family. Deployments, NTC trainings, overseas-unaccompanied tours, and frequent PCS moves have a significant impact on choosing a program or establishing yourself as a professional. Hugh Prather once said, “Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes,” a fitting quote on the frustrations a person faces when pursing a degree or professional standing.

By: Mary Ridenoure, LMSW  Life is full of unexpected twists and turns; this is not a surprise for a military family. Deployments, NTC trainings, overseas-unaccompanied tours, and frequent PCS moves have a significant impact on choosing a program or establishing yourself as a professional. Hugh Prather once said, “Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes,” a fitting quote on the frustrations a person faces when pursing a degree or professional standing.

While we choose our lives as military spouses and understand the challenges that we face in the constant upheaval of our house and families, many of us do not choose to sit quietly on the sidelines simply supporting our spouses’ careers.  We choose to be professionals, academics, parents, and so much more, yet we face an often insurmountable dilemma: how will we succeed in our career when we are living this military life?  Even though I have been living through obstacles in my quest for a mental health position, I am still surprised at how daunting it all can be.

As military spouses it seems like we are always getting ready for change: change of address, change of schools, change of social support and perhaps, change in employment. It is that last category that I will explore in greater detail. The informed spouse may already be “plugged in” to a variety of resources to ease that transition but my aim is to bring these means to the forefront in hopes that even more spouses will benefit.  Let’s explore how we got here and where the movement is heading.

As military spouses, we know all too well that there are so many great things about our life, but there are also the challenges. The beauty of this life is that we are blessed with family wherever we go. From duty station to duty station and even online, we can find family. We meet fellow spouses and service members on base housing, at the commissary, at our local churches, in our communities and even online. Because we move so much and have to adapt so readily, we become adept at making “family” everywhere we go.