military – A Southern Mother

Every Moment Counts with Mrs. Fields®

asouthernmother

October 16, 2014

Today’s post is sponsored by Mrs. Fields® as part of the #mrsfieldsmoments campaign.

When my son was 18 months old, we flew to from Lexington, Kentucky to Bogota, Colombia to visit his father. My (now ex) spouse was stationed there with the U.S. Army. It isn’t easy to fly with an active toddler, and especially not when you have a six hour layover in Chicago. I was so thankful for access to the USO facility there. I found a comfortable and quiet place to breastfeed Gabe, and it made our trip much less stressful. We enjoyed some free snacks, including Mrs. Fields® cookies. When you are separated for months at a time by thousands of miles, every moment counts. The stress of traveling can put a damper on even the most joyous reunion.

DSCF0042 — Gabe and I in Bogota, Colombia

If USO doesn’t sound familiar, it stands for United Service Organizations, Inc. It is a nonprofit organization that provides recreational activities and programs to boost the morale and welfare of military members and their families. USO lounges are located in airports around the United States, and they allow service members and their families to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the airport terminals. USO facilities are staffed by volunteers, and couldn’t operate without generous supporters like Mrs. Fields®. The lounges often have comfortable seating, televisions, reading materials, games and other activities, drinks, and snacks. They also have facilities near military installations in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

Mrs. Fields®, in partnership with the USO, created the Every Moment Counts Campaign (#mrsfieldsmoments). They want all families to recognize the importance of spending quality time together. They have also pledged to donate 35,000 cookies to be placed in USO2Go boxes which will be shipped to soldiers around the world.

Sitting down and eating a cookie with your child can be quality family time. The Mrs. Fields® website features several neat ideas that make eating a cookie even more fun than, well…eating a cookie. Who doesn’t like cookies? The “Sunday Snacktivites” are just ideas to get you started.

Gabe and I made Mrs. Fields® ice cream sandwiches; I even found Mrs. Fields® Breyers® ice cream. He and I sat down to draw while we were eating. Gabe drew a portrait of his “Papi,” who is still an active duty soldier. I know his dad doesn’t get to see him as much as he would like to, but we routinely talk about him.

In addition to their direct support of the USO, Mrs. Fields® is hosting a contest for everyone.

Here’s how you enter:

Take a selfie of your family participating in a Sunday Snacktivity.
Share the photo on Mrs. Fields® Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag, #mrsfieldsmoments.
You can share as many moments as you like until November 12 to earn more entries.

Entries are easy and they are a great way to collect a few fun family photos. One lucky family will receive airfare for four to Washington, D.C., four tickets to ride the Capitol Wheel, gift certificates for dining in National Harbor, and accommodations for 2 nights. Complete details can be found here.

You can find links to Mrs. Fields® social media channels here:

What does your family do to make every moment count?

I am participating in this campaign as a member of The Niche Parent Network & Conference in partnership with Mrs. Fields. All opinions are my own.

Sevenly and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: Where Fashion Becomes Charity

asouthernmother

May 22, 2013

No Comment

Have you ever witnessed the pain of someone else and counted your blessings? When I was running the Disney Princess half marathon this spring, I caught a glimpse of a red t-shirt with the photo of a soldier on the back. I was curious, so I sped up to get closer. A military widow was running for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors also known as T.A.P.S. I nearly started sobbing on the spot. I come from a very large military family and we have been fortunate enough to have our service members return home, countless others aren’t so lucky. The T.A.P.S. program provides a multitude of services to the family members, friends, and battle buddies of service members who died for our country. The pain and suffering they endure can be relentless. T.A.P.S. developed summer camps for children, grief counseling, emergency funds, and other forms of very necessary assistance.

Photo Credit: Sevenly

The trendy clothing line Sevenly has partnered with T.A.P.S. this week to help raise money for this incredible organization.

About Sevenly:

Sevenly is a social good fashion brand that partners with a new charity each week, promoting and selling limited edition graphic tees and other lifestyle products. Seven dollars from each sale goes towards the charity of the week, helping raise funds and awareness. Sevenly’s foundation is that People Matter, and since their launch in June 2011, Sevenly has continued to lead a generation towards generosity, raising over 2.1 million dollars to date.

Photo Credit: Sevenly

Photo Credit: Sevenly

The trendy clothing line is comfortable, stylish, and affordable. Why not shop for an great charity and help military families recover from a devastating loss? You can help raise awareness for T.A.P.S. and the Sevenly fundraising campaign by sharing this blog post on your social media sites. It would be a great way to kick off your Memorial Day weekend plans!

Happy Wonderful Wednesday,

XOXO

~Jess

Taking a Second to Just Breathe…

asouthernmother

April 25, 2013

No Comment

It seems like lately life has just been completely chaotic for me. There is always so much going on. I feel like I have to balance my time being a full time “single” parent, and trying to sneak in a few minutes to myself. I say single parent because when your husband has been gone with the Army for 2.5 years, I became a single parent by default. Right now, I know I should be asleep but instead I am writing trying to clear my head.

Gabe had soccer pictures and a soccer game on Saturday. I seriously thought I might cry. It was his first official sports team photo. He is growing up too fast. I also caught him blowing his babysitter a kiss goodbye tonight. I am pretty sure he has a crush on Miss Morgan. I took Escobar to the dog park, and he was just a big ball of energy. I also discovered Aldi grocery store over the weekend. My life seems rather monotonous.

Today was especially difficult. Gabe has been acting out lately. He realizes his fathers absence and he struggles. He barely knows either of his grandfathers. My husbands brother lives in Florida and he has seen Gabe two times since he was born. My brother Brandon is probably always watching over us from up above and there is Stanton who has been trying to get his own life together. Gabe has no real relationships with men. He hangs with my girlfriends and myself. He attends childcare at the YMCA while I run and workout, but even those caregivers are all female. When Gabe has basketball at the Kentucky Basketball Academy, he will do anything to get and keep his coaches attention. He wants to be a little boy with a man to play with him. I played basketball in high school, but I don’t want to be the only one teaching him to dribble or shoot a basket. I watched as all the other dads interacted with their children and I couldn’t help be heartbroken for Gabe. He deserved to have a male role model months ago, and her certainly shouldn’t have to wait months more for his dad to return. I have similar experiences with soccer. I didn’t even have the option to play soccer growing up.

There is nothing quite as delightful as a 32 year man who has never even gotten up during the night to feed their child saying he is too young to remember all this. Every time he says that I want to shake him (him as in Gabes father not Gabe) and say what do you know about parenting. I interact with our son every day and I watch him struggle to interact with men. He has attention seeking behaviors. I rightfully worry that these last few years will gravely alter his personality. I have half given up trying to convince my husband of anything relating to Gabes behavior, admitting I am right would mean he knows he needs to come home

My husband and I are so different. There is no job that would keep me away from my son for months on end (or my spouse). I guess this a huge sore spot for us. I just wish I felt like he loved his family as much as he loved the Army. I’m sure I’m not the only military spouse who has felt this way.

This is enough of a vent for my blog and the day. I really need to sleep. I get to drive to Washington, D.C. tomorrow for the Nike Women’s half marathon on Sunday. There is nothing quite like a road trip with a 3 year old!

Happy Whining Wednesday!
XOXO
~Jess

And the “Ax” falls… Federal Tuition Assistance is gone

asouthernmother

March 8, 2013

1 Comment

military

I had a lovely blog post started in celebration of International Women’s Day, partially about my travels as a military spouse and all of the incredible international women that I have met. My beautiful writing came to a screeching halt when I discovered that thousands of international women were suffering due to consequences of our government sequestration.

We all knew that the ax was going to fall and programs were going to be cut, but I am deeply saddened that one of them was the Federal Tuition Assistance Program. One of the prime benefits of enlisting in the military is the option of having tuition assistance to help cover the costs of furthering their education. I am not just saddened for women, it is equally heartbreaking for men and military families. Today our international military women should be able to celebrate International Women’s Day, and not fret about paying for college or continuing their education.

I know what it is like to live on a junior enlisted soldiers salary and it isn’t easy. Now our soldiers who signed contracts and essentially signed their lives over to protect our freedom have had one of their primary benefits taken away. Active duty soldiers often use their education to help them achieve points which are used toward promotion. I am upset over other cuts to programs such as education, but to take a benefit away from a military member that they were promised is entirely unacceptable.

I have been essentially a single mother for the last two years due to my husbands position. He works in another country and his orders are considered “temporary duty”(although I don’t know how you consider a 3 year tour there temporary). My son has been without his father and I take care of him alone. It is a reality for any military spouse and family. We know that there will be times we will be apart, and this wasn’t the first and probably not the last time he will gone for an extended period. How does the government expect military families to sacrifice so much and then take away benefits?

My husband finished his bachelors degree using military tuition assistance, and had been using it to partially fund graduate school in International Relations. This will essentially prevent him from progressing in graduate school until when or even if the program is reinstated.
It will be interesting to see how military recruitment for active duty branches fairs in the months ahead. National guard soldiers shouldn’t be impacted at the moment unless they are deployed or attend an out of state school that was funded through Federal Tuition Assistance. National Guard education benefits are funded through State Tuition Assistance programs.

I know that many of us feel helpless again sequestration but we need to make our voices heard. You need to let your Senators and Congressman know that this is unacceptable. We can’t blame parties or individuals, they need to make a collective effort to create a budget without slashing necessary and essential programs.

I hurt for the families of active duty military which were affected today. I only hope that alternative solutions can be found to sequestration and military members are given a benefit they rightfully deserve.

Happy International Women’s day to all of the military women (spouses and service members) which sacrifice their safety and freedom to ensure ours.

Happy Facinorous Friday,
XOXO
~Jess