Salute to Spouses Blog

We're excited to be blogging about the latest topics in military life. We want to keep you informed on topics such as current events, education, career advice, etc. Feel free to post comments or questions to any of our entries.
Celebrate veterans, correctly

On Memorial Day my husband was thanked everywhere he went for his service. Yesterday on the Fourth of July he was thanked again, everywhere he went, for his service. Even on Labor Day last year he was lauded and praised.

Are we the only military family that is slightly irritated and perhaps appalled by how little Americans know about their own holidays?

Quizzes, summertime schedules, and post retirement reunification

By Amy Nielsen

My husband and I are on the fence about maybe going on the road with our rv and road-schooling our kids while we both finish our degrees and licensure over the next couple years.

He finally comes to a point where he can retire from government service but still has a couple years left on his degree, while I have another year in this program and then a year of internship hours to complete before I sit for my license.

Need experience for your resume? Work or volunteer with a political campaign

Midterm elections are coming. That means political campaigns need workers, lots of them. And a fast-paced, never-ending push to Election Day could easily fill your resume with praise.

Job-finding sites like Indeed.com and Monster.com have a plethora of campaign job listings. The best of those positions are paid well. Most, however, are volunteer work or if they are paid, are lower level jobs that require a lot of hours hoofing it around neighborhoods or cold calling voters.

Looking for work? Connect, network and learn from the pros

Summer is the season of goodbyes and new beginnings as many military families PCS. It is also the season of retirement and a glimpse into the unknown.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation hosts dozens of hiring fairs for military members and their spouses around the country each month. But, the group also holds events for military families preparing to step into the civilian job force and leave the uniform behind.

Military establishes parental leave program for moms and dads

The U.S. military is giving families more time after adding a child to the family, and allowing them to determine the best way to use that time. More importantly, the military is recognizing that every family has different needs.

The Department of Defense recently directed the services to re-align parental leave programs to become more flexible with the needs of individual families.

Yellow sticky notes, red pens, and dodging scheduling disasters

By Amy Nielsen

My life is currently ruled by yellow sticky notes written in red ballpoint ink fluttering on the edge of my roll top desk in the deepening summer breeze from my open window. They often flit down like leaves from some academic olive branch, telling me exactly what is due this week and on what day. These neatly line up with the color coded squares on my google calendar which is auto populated by my school online learning platform. The dates come from the syllabi entered by the professors.

Without them I would be a very lost little lamby.

Retirement prep from the military member’s point of view

I recently asked my husband his lessons learned from retirement. I thought it might be nice to get the servicemember / retiree perspective on things.

As usual, he was quick to point out that he’s no expert and his advice may or may not be welcome. And that everybody’s situation is different. And that what might work for one couple or family might not work for another.

Of course he’s right.

But I told him there is value in hearing from someone who’s been there, done that.

Retirement: Learning to be a family again

The other night, after my spouse had loaded the dishwasher after dinner without being asked, I went into the kitchen to add a few stray dishes and push the start button.

First, though, I rearranged everything - that glass should be on the top, that bowl should be facing the other way, the silverware should be sorted by type into each basket with the knives pointing down …

Wait. Why was I doing this?

Because that’s the way I’ve always done it.

New beginnings: my thesis, my daughters’ first time in public school

By Amy Nielsen

This year may well see a ginormous shift for us. It has come to my attention that the master’s degree I am pursuing is going to take a whole lot more concentration as we progress toward the walk. Coupled with a change up in the neighborhood dynamics, it looks like we will be moving to a more traditional schooling pattern for my girls. My two kids are currently reporting in grade school as homeschool students in our district.

Yep, my kids are gonna hit public school after only ever having experienced pre-school many years ago.

Probably.

Study says financial aid letters cause confusion at some schools

Confused by how much financial aid you are actually receiving? Not sure exactly how much you owe your college?

You’re not alone.

NewAmerica and uAspire, a nonprofit group that advises students on the financial aid process, has released a report saying that many colleges use language and missing information to paint an incomplete picture of how much students actually owe.

Pages

$6,000 SCHOLARSHIP
For Military Spouses
Apply for the Salute to Spouses scholarship today and begin your education! You’ll be on the way to your dream career.
BLOG CATEGORIES
MONTHLY ARCHIVES

Salute to Spouses Scholarship Recipients

© 2013 SALUTE TO SPOUSES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED