The Military Mom Collective

06/03/2026

For military spouses, PCS moves aren’t just packing boxes —> it’s rebuilding routines, finding new doctors, new schools, new grocery stores, and pretending you totally know where anything is while secretly using GPS for the next 6 months.

A few realistic survival tips:

✨ Don’t unpack everything immediately.
Your house does not need to look Pinterest-perfect in 48 hours.

✨ Keep one “sanity bag.”
Toilet paper, chargers, coffee, pajamas, meds, snacks. Protect this bag with your life.

✨ Kids and pets will act weird for a bit.
Honestly, so will adults.

✨ Make one familiar corner first.
Whether it’s your coffee station, gaming setup, or favorite blanket pile, having one “normal” space helps more than people realize.

✨ Give yourself permission to grieve the old place while still being excited for the new one.
Both feelings can exist at the same time.

Military spouses become experts at starting over, even when it’s exhausting. And somehow, eventually, the new place starts feeling like home too. 💛

Julia | Contributor

06/02/2026

Sometimes you just need a book that so good, that it makes you cry. 😭

To celebrate Audiobook Month, our contributor Susan is sharing 4 historical fiction books that are great options to listen to!

Don’t forget you can access the DOD Library with your .app account! Not sure how to do that? We have instructions on our pinned post on our main grid.

Has a book ever made you cry?

06/01/2026

All I want for you is a happy life, my little love.

When I get mad at you, when I am upset or impatient with you about something you did or didn’t do, please try to remember that I want to teach you everything I know:

So that you don’t make the same mistakes I did. So that you don’t waste your precious time with that guy (or gal) that’s not so nice.

So that you can be smarter. So that you don’t burn your hand on that scalding hot pot in a moment of inattentiveness or let someone borrow your car when they shouldn’t be driving.

So that you can be wiser and know you can leave your hometown to go to college.

So that you lead a better life than I have. So that you don’t have student loans to pay off, or at least less. So that you know what scholarships are, and what to do to get them.

So that you can be focused on the things that matter, I encourage you to explore your interests and apply them positively in the world around you.

So that you can be as happy and healthy as you possibly can. So that you can cry less. So that if you ever want to join, you have an inside view of the military and the benefits and opportunities it provides.

I want you to know how to stay organized, so I make you tidy up the messes you make in your room.

I want you to grow up contributing, so I encourage you to help out before doing the “fun” stuff.

I want you to call me when you’re older, and visit when I’m older! So I make sure you know I am always here for you.

I want you to have all the opportunities in life and not to drown in it, so I enroll you in swim classes.

All I want is to give you the world, my little love, so I keep striving to be better.

So if you get angry when I push you, just know it’s because all I want for you is everything.

Yoli | Contributor

05/30/2026

But For Now I'll Mourn

Susan | Contributor

05/30/2026

You were never there.

The goal to every move out, is to make it seem as though you were never there. You take your pictures off the walls. Scrub the wall of your dogs’ favorite spot to rest against. Remove the flowers you and your kids planted. Empty the house of all your belongings.

You were never there.

But I was.

My family made memories there. We laughed. We cried. We grew. We may never be able to visit this house again, but it was special to our family for the short time we lived there.

We were there.

When I move into a new home I don’t think about the family before—I’m excited to make new memories, in a new place. I wonder what this new home will be remembered for. The past houses have gained the title of “where we brought ____ home for the first time”, “where ___ learned to walk”, “where they lost their first tooth”, and “where they both learned to ride a bike”. I don’t ever stop to wonder what this house was for the family before us.

When it’s time to move, I always feel that pause. The sigh of grief. I won’t be revisiting this house. I won’t be able to drive by it and show the kids the house they learned to walk in. They won’t ever know what it’s like to have THE house they grew up. At this point they will have a whole address book full of homes that they lived in. The feelings always come, and they always hit me when we are getting ready to move out. When we have taken the pictures off the walls, removed the toys from the backyard, and return the house to a blank slate. When we are erasing all evidence that we were there.

I wish we could leave a guest book in each home. A way for families to keep their special memories preserved in the house. Just one thing to show that we were there.

We left it empty and ready for the next family, but we were there once.

Shelly | Contributor

05/28/2026

I have spent more time than I care to admit in this military life feeling sad about living away from family. FOMO is alive and well in my brain, unfortunately. When things get tough, my mind usually goes to the idyllic headspace of, "what would life be like if I had family close by?"

I don’t have grandma around the corner to pick up one kid from an activity while I’m driving carpool to baseball practice. I can’t ask my mom to care for my sick child so that I can still get to work today. I don’t have the chance to really get to know my nieces and nephews, except on that once-a-year visit we are lucky to have some years. I’ve missed too many weddings, funerals and celebrations to count. I’ve not been able to support my family through challenges in a way I’d like to because I’m stationed far away.

But an unexpected gift I have noticed, especially as my kids have gotten older, is how connected our little nuclear family is. We are all we’ve got as we pack up one house and move to the next. When school is out for the summer and my kids don’t know a soul, we have each other to go get ice cream and head to the pool with. When we touch down in a foreign country and don’t speak the language, we stumble through it together and laugh at all the faux pas we make. We are the only ones who truly feel the absence in this house when our servicemember is away. We are the ones who see the daily struggles and growth points in each others’ lives.

Instead of camping out in the “I wish we were closer…” mindset, I’m choosing to be thankful for the life that has brought me an immensely close and bonded group of people. I’m lucky to call them my own.

Maribeth | Contributor

05/27/2026

"It’s never too late to start protecting your skin and setting a better example for the next generation watching us."

Today on our site, our contributor Jenn is sharing some common myths about sunscreen and sun damage.

What is your favorite way to protect against the sun? Let us know in the comments!

05/22/2026

Don't Say Happy on Memorial Day.

Let us pause to remember and honor these service members this Memorial Day for their ultimate sacrifice, ensuring their legacy is never forgotten.

05/21/2026

For our followers stationed in the DMV!

🇺🇸 This Memorial Day, Fairfax County Park Authority is proud to honor our veterans, active-duty military, and their families.
On Monday, May 25, enjoy FREE access to FCPA Recreation Centers, including indoor pools and gyms, plus complimentary camping at Lake Fairfax and wagon rides at Frying Pan Farm Park.
Thank you for your service. 🍃
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/park-news/2026/memorial-activities-service-members