Milspouse Matters

So excited to share this special holiday episode with you! Are you torn between traveling to see your extended family and staying put to create your own holiday memories? Alone over the holidays due to deployment or just moved and don't know a soul? This week, Jen is teaming up with Sheena Arting of the Dear MilFamily Podcast on a crossover between their shows. They've been there and they're talki...

Travel and overseas life as a military family? We're talking about it in this episode! Jen starts off with some tips for overseas moves from her own family's four overseas assignments.  Then, she's talking to Angie Drake, who shares about her family's unique moves to South America (twice!), and how she's taken those experiences to start her own sustainable travel consulting business, Not Your Aver...

Who were you before life told you who you had to be? The answer to that could be interesting! Join Jen for this informative, fun, and inspiration-filled episode with Kellie Artis, COO for MILLIE and co-founder of Milspo Gurus.  Kellie has been a military spouse for over 10 years and in that time has supported her husband and family through 4 combat deployments and tackled multiple moves. She now u...

Air Force veteran and military spouse Amanda Huffman is joining Jen this week to talk about her time as a service member, her decision to "trade in combat boots for a diaper bag," her series featuring women service members and veterans, and her upcoming podcast about women in the military! Amanda, who writes the Airman to Mom blog, shares about her year-long deployment to Afghanistan, how her dual...

What do you do when you're not sure where you'll be living a month from now? You face it head on, that's what! Since she's already moved 6 times in the 4 years of her husband's Marine Corps career, you could say Danielle Keech is something of an expert on short-notice PCS moves! On this episode, we talk about the perspective she's already gained as a new military spouse, military spouse employment...

In this episode, we're turning the tables and Jen McDonald is being interviewed! Find out more about Jen's story as a military spouse of three decades, which led to her writing a book for other spouses and starting the Milspouse Matters podcast. Lana Simmons, cohost of the Reinventing Midlife podcast , puts Jen on the hot seat.  We'll talk about feeling like a fish out of water as a new military s...

In this episode, Jen's talking to Wendi Iacobello, who shares her message of support, empowerment, and encouragement for military spouses. Through her hashtag #morethanamilspouse, her hope is to remind other military spouses that it's ok to create a life for yourself, too!  As we recorded this episode, Hurricane Florence was headed her way, but she was undeterred in her mission to express her supp...

This week, Jen's talking to Meg Flanagan of MilKidsEd, who shares with us her passion for education, especially as it relates to military kids.  Originally a classroom teacher, Meg has taken her expertise and uses it now to address common school problems and advocate for military families, whether it's help with taming the homework beast, working with homeschooling families, helping families navig...

Lauren Cecora is a go-getter! But after giving birth to her first child, her world was rocked by postpartum depression. In this real and honest episode, you'll hear about Lauren's journey through PPD while her husband was deployed. Realizing quickly that something was off more than the typical postpartum "baby blues," Lauren reached out for help, made the necessary changes in her life to get well...

Dawn M. Smith is an Army spouse of nearly two decades, a freelance writer with a talent for creating real estate and home design content, and a mom living in the D.C. area. She's rebelling against the description of "seasoned spouse," though we still haven't landed on a better term! Dawn shares her tips for creating a home wherever the Army sends her family (and gives you permission to shop!), as...

Lana Simmons is a retired military spouse now living in Virginia. Through the years of her husband's military career, she grappled with the common questions many milspouses face:  How do I keep a career going with constant moves, especially overseas? What if I decide to stay home with my kids? Should I volunteer? Where do I find friends? Lana came to terms with the best answers for her family, and...

Christina Youngblood is an Army veteran and Air Force spouse. At the age of 20, she was sent on a 15-month deployment to Iraq and went through experiences that later culminated in a diagnosis of PTSD. Christina is very open about her journey dealing with PTSD and how she has gotten to the point where it doesn't control her anymore.  Along with resources and advice for military members and family d...

Christine Barker Anderson ("Chris") is one of those people who lights up a room with her smile and warmth. She shares with us about her family's military life of over two decades, including moving around the world with her husband and four children and going through several deployments, until her husband Air Force Chaplain Lonnie Barker's unexpected death while still on active duty.   Candid and h...

This week Jen's chatting with Tara Howes, a retired Army spouse who's gotten through military life with lots of laughs and facing challenges with flexibility. Tara is the mother of four and the cohost of My Military Life Radio. Over the years of her husband's Army career, she's become in her words, a "professional volunteer," supporting military families in numerous capacities, including as a pare...

Join  Jen McDonald as she shares the stories of military spouses, both past and present. With less than 1% of our country serving on active duty, we're highlighting the stories of military families so you can hear from them firsthand. We're going to talk about it all: getting through the separations that go along with training and deployments, moving around the world, seeing the one you love leave...