The Waiting Warriors Podcast

"[Force] the confrontation and [have] the conversations while you can have them." -Suzanne @gracefinancialcoaching   Suzanne explains how she and her husband communicate and stay connected even though much of their relationship has been apart from each other. She emphasizes the importance of not waiting to have the hard conversations until there is strain in your relationship. www.gracefinancialco...

"It isn't up to someone else to make you happy, it is up to you to be happy with yourself." -Marla Bautista @marla.bautista.author   It is easy get lost in the life of a military spouse, and Marla knows all about it. She walks us through her early life of struggling with homelessness and building her independence and her later experiences of losing herself in the expectations of military life. She...

"We're working on a public health level to change things, but it also takes your every day connections to each other to save lives." -Dr. Ingrid Herrera-Yee @yeeingrid   We conclude our series for National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month with Dr. Ingrid Herrera-Yee, who has dedicated much of her adult life working in suicide prevention. She shares great resources that provide helpful and co...

"When we share our broken moment…it helps others realize that they're not broken alone." -Jolynn Lee @starfishtalks Jolynn joins our September series for National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. She shares her family's experience with trauma, and how she believes the military community can influence the conversation around trauma and healing. Contact her by email at contact@jolynnlee.com o...

"I can never ever ever get my dad back…but what I can do is live my life with purpose, spread my message, and try to change the world for the better so that we're seeing less and less of this devastating epidemic." -Kati Poston @the.eight.postons   September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, and we are kicking off a series on suicide awareness with military spouse Kati. Kati shar...

"Be ok with where you're at, what you're doing."  -Amy @tiny_troops_soccer   As a military spouse of 18 years, Amy knows how hard and lonely the military life can be. Listen as she gives her best tips on how to find what works for you, especially during separations and deployment. She also shares her passion, Tiny Troops Soccer, and explains how you and your kids can get involved. tinytroopssoccer...

"Anybody can make an impact. Really."  -Christal   Christal explains that foster care while serving in the Army is not only possible, but is much more accessible than people think. She walks us through her process of becoming a foster parent and the unique challenges and advantages that come with foster care in the military community. She also gives concrete ways that you can help those in foster...

"Community is everything. And just being there to support one another whether it is with business or whether it's with life…at the end of the day we always have somebody, hopefully, to lean on." -Monica @spouse.ly   Monica explains her inspiration behind the creation of Spouse-ly, an online marketplace to support Miltary/Veteran spouse and service member owned businesses. She also emphasizes the i...

"No matter what is going on in our life -no matter what the issues are, the circumstances that we are facing- they are not bigger than our marriage." -Ashley Wallis  @_ashleywallis   Ashley takes us through her military spouse journey of discovering how to communicate fully with her husband, even amidst extreme hardship such as constant moves, 3 hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) pregnancies, dealing wit...

"You have to keep on moving, adjust, and deal with it." -Lily   Lily shares how she adjusted from civilian life surrounded by close family to military spouse life stationed far away from her support group.

"When we see a friend or someone we love is hurting, we want to jump in there and fix it. And in this situation there is really nothing you can say or do that is going to fix it." -Wendi @strength4spouses Wendi shares her experiences as an army wife dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss when surrounded by families with children in the military. She shares ways to reach out to military spouse...

"You can NOT compare suffering. There's no limit to the world's empathy. We all deserve a piece of it, and every little pain that we feel and we think shouldn't exist…that's just not how emotion works." -Morgan Slade @morganslade_ Morgan explains why military spouses and first responder spouses need to give themselves some grace and realize that being a military wife does not mean that you have to...

"No matter how hard it is you dig deep and you find that resilience in you, that perseverance. Because it's always there, you have just now decided that you are going to pull it from the depths and put it to work." -Hannah Listen in while Hannah shares her experiences of being a twin mom and Air Force wife, and how her experiences have taught her how important resilience is. Hannah has realized th...

"Our loved ones have been called to help others, and so they're not always there to help us. So [self care] is...giving us back our power to be able to fill our souls and get us human again." -Noralee from @MrsNavyMama Listen as Noralee and I talk about our personal experiences of learning the importance or self care and how Noralee has broken down the process so we can make an individualized, ful...

"If my husband's watching your husband's back and he's watching my husband's back, we need to have each other's backs. That makes us family." - Meagan Davis Listen as Meagan Davis shares how she gets her family involved in serving the community, and the experiences that have taught her just how vital it is for us to open our hearts and eyes to others. This life can be so lonely, can but it doesn't...

"Never ever let them start a shift without kissing them, and never ever let them end a shift without kissing them and telling them that you love them." Julia  Listen as Julia, an ex cop and wife to a police man/national guardsman, shares her personal and professional experiences with loved ones fighting off demons. While this is one of the "heavier" topics for Waiting Warriors, these are very real...

"What you see in other people's marriages- good, bad, or indifferent- that doesn't mean that that's what it has to be for you." Bree Carroll from @HeartsStripes  Bree is passionate about strong Waiting Warrior marriages and shares how she went from having no desire to be married, to having a thriving partnership with her husband. Listen as she shares actionable examples of what they do as a couple...

"Being a military spouse, or being a first responder spouse, is a hat you put on. It's not who you are. And it does become a part of your identity, but it cannot become your identity." Serena West from @ShopWestHouse Serena is no stranger to feeling of realizing that the life you envisioned for yourself is impossible while being a Waiting Warrior. But after years of wearing too many hats that were...

"It's very, very scary to put yourself out there and to try to make friends and put yourself in new situations, and awkward situations, and anxious situations." Kara @hey.pointdexter Kara is a naturally shy, stays in her comfort zone kind of woman, but military life (specifically moving to a small village in Germany with a brand new husband and then him leaving for training right away) has taught...

"If we can always keep the benefits and good things at the forefront of our minds then it just makes dealing with the challenges that little bit easier." Gems Collins This week Gems shares her perspective as an UK immigrant military spouse. She shares her experience with having to adapt to US life and military life, but also her strong belief of the benefits of a positive attitude! Get more Waitin...

"If we are starting to get twisted up about x, y, or z and we pause and realize whether or not we have actually said it out loud, and we come to notice we haven't said it out loud, then we are really at fault" -Austin  Austin and I realized a lot of similarities between what's happening with covid 19 and handling a reintegration from a military deployment. Listen in as we share how we are using to...

"It's important, when he's not communicating, to realize he's not doing it on purpose." Morgan This week on the podcast Morgan gives us some really good reminders of communication basics, that we often forget or loose sight of when we are in the middle of the whirlwinds.   Be sure to get more Waiting Warrior content on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thewaitingwarrior/ Huge thank you to our...

"We definetly worked through it but it definetly cause some problems. It's not all rainbows and butterflies." Tara from @Realtalkwiththe_ms_s This quote is a perfect summary for this episode: it's completely honest but still hopeful.  Tara gives us a real and open look at how lonely this life can be and how important it is to communicate effectively. Listen for a few tips and call outs on things I...

"It's not so much that I don't care what other people think...but I'm not going to care to that point that what they think of me is going to affect the way that I view myself." Sabrina    Listen as Sabrina shares how she's had many rocky transitions, but it's led her to a deep appreciation for every kind of woman and military spouse. Her outlook is not only inspiring with her love for other women,...

"Every bit of your advocacy for your child is worth it." Michelle Norman  Michelle is a great example, not just for the special needs parents, but for all parents to fight for what their children need and deserve. Listen to the episode for not only her story of fighting for her daughter an all other military EFMPs but also her sound advice for all parents.  Connect with Michelle https://www.facebo...