It has been scientifically proven that it's harder to make friend as an 30-something adult than it is when you're younger, say 18-28. Why is that? 

Well, I think by that time you've pretty much established where you're going to live, work, and you've found your circle. Well, in a normal world that is... In the military world, I think things are a bit different, sometimes it's harder to make friends and then again sometimes it's the easiest thing in the world. 

Right now, I'm on…

2013 AT&T National Military Ticket Information The Tiger Woods Foundation, in cooperation with the OSD/JS Welfare and Recreation Association, will once again be distributing free tickets to military personnel this year for the AT&T National.

Tickets will be available at designated ITT/ITR offices within a 150-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Ticket Information: Tickets will be available to all DOD personnel, including Coast Guard (active duty, reserve, retired, National Guard,…

Migration season has begun!

It happens every year at this time – the annual migration of hatch-lings back to the nest after their time away for college or…

     Belated Military Spouse Appreciation Day greetings to all of my fellow military spouses. You hold down the fort, you’re the ‘behind the scenes’ pillars of strength, and you’re the often unheralded conductor of the symphony of your family’s military voyage.

     Sadly, my ‘symphony’ is often wildly out of tune. I often feel like Mozart toward the end of the movie ‘Amadeus’ when he takes on the conductor’s role, but grows ever more weary as the performance goes on, and finally…

I could hear cadence being sung near the parking lot at Ft. Sill’s Reynolds Army Community Hospital in Lawton, OK. My husband was in the Marine Corps at the time, but he was assigned to an Army base for training. I was in labor with our first child and like many first time mothers; I arrived at the hospital in early…

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day fellow travelers on the journey through military life! 

Today you’ll get to hear a lot about how special you are. You’ll…

Hello Everyone! I'm Lori and this is my first blog with DCMIlitaryFamilyLife.com! I'm thrilled to be here and I look forward to getting to know everyone. :-)

So we just PCS'd from Bahrain all the way to the wonderful state of Maryland and the DC area! I love it so much here already and I see nothing but good things happening during our time in the area.

Being that we just PCS'd to the DC area, I'd like to share with you a few tips that helped me get through the craziness of of…

1. The health insurance is very good.

Tricare offers two plans to choose from--Prime or Standard. The benefit of Prime is that you don't pay anything out of pocket--but you must go to your appointments at base medical (or at least go there first in order to get a referral somewhere else). The benefit of Standard is that you can see any doctor who accepts Tricare Standard and don't need to go on base at all (in military towns, most practices accept Tricare). However, you will be a…

If you really want to show your appreciation…

Look, I am all for honoring Military Spouses. I enjoyed receiving those tokens of appreciation each May while spouse was on active duty. Military Spouses deserve…

The answers may surprise you.

When I was asked to write an article for the recent DC Military Family Life Month of the Military Child publication, I jumped at the task. How hard could it be? I raised three military…

Sometimes, especially in a military town, you encounter stories of heroism when you least expect them.

Last night, my husband and I were driving to the grocery store when we decided that what we really wanted for dinner was, in fact, hibachi. We took a detour to the restaurant, even though I was in gym clothes and slightly embarrassed to go inside. We were seated at a large hibachi grill next to an elderly couple. Throughout the meal, they casually spoke to us, mostly about the…

I have been parking by a small tree in the parking lot at my office all winter, waiting and watching for the first signs of new spring life. Finally, finally that little tree budded and I felt like it was a call for celebration, so I went out and bought a pack of gum on my lunch hour. Hey, a girl has to live every now and then! I love my job, but being in an office day in and day out, often has me longing for the sunshine, the smell of freshly mown grass, a piña colada by the poolside. I…

I had never lived more than two hours from my childhood home when my husband went back on Active Duty.  We packed ourselves and our six-week old in the minivan and headed to Florida.  I was sad, nervous, excited, scared and had no idea what military life was going to hold for us.  I wish I could go back now and better prepare myself for what lay ahead.

I’d prepare myself for the little things you need to know about military life.  Like you must take dollar bills to the commissary. …

     Life in the fishbowl (i.e., on post) can get rather monotonous for us spouses and our families. I know that in the DC area, we have any number of options for shopping, dining, day trips and other everyday excursions. But if you’re like me, you spend an inordinate amount of time on post: shopping at the commissary, getting gas, and taking advantage of the various benefits that accrue to military families. Because Ft. Detrick is a rather small installation (or rather, the key buildings…

A friend of mine, former Marine, Vietnam Vet, has an unusual medical condition. He finds any materials against his skin cause him great pain. It is a peculiar and disabling situation that, as you might imagine, affects every aspect of his life. He has no outward signs of injury, but he has been injured and his condition is deemed service-connected. The fellow has trouble sleeping, because even sheets on a bed cause him pain, and he cannot wear most fabrics. No matter the weather, he dresses…

Lessons learned at the Military.com Spouse Summit.

Lesson 1: It’s hard to attend a Spouse Summit as just an observer looking for a blog story. Surrounded by forum leaders like Jacey Eckhart, editor of SpouseBuzz.com (shown…

Two weeks ago, my husband received news that he had been assigned to a 3-year shore tour at NAS Oceana, where we are currently stationed. We were both thrilled--not only because the job was his top choice, but because we both love the Virginia Beach area. Three years ago, we bought a townhouse two blocks from the ocean, which remains our "dream house" to this day, especially after some renovations. While one wonderful part of the Navy life is experiencing a variety of different cultures,…

I came across a website the other day run by a military spouse the sole purpose of which is to make fun of other military spouses. The website had pictures of bumper stickers and other memorabilia with slogans like, “I’m an Army Wife.  What’s Your Super Power?” and “Retired Marine Wife” followed by scathing comments from posters, many of them other military spouses.

The offending bumper stickers and coffee mugs seemed fairly innocuous to me, and at first, I was surprised at the…

The phone call came through as I stood in my father’s kitchen, “Hello..you want to speak to who?,” as father handed me the telephone with a quizzical look, “He says it’s a message for you.” While the caller still remains unidentified by name, he told me he was a…

There’s an image many have of the consummate Soldier/Marine/Airman/Corpsman.

Picture a cross between Audie Murphy, John Wayne and The Rock, combined into one Super Warrior. But real heroes often come in very…