By Angela Caban

Military spouses on the home front manage many different tasks. We man the household as both mother and father, we quit our jobs to follow our soldiers wherever duty may call them, whatever always seems to break we manage to fix it ourselves, we also seem to manage caring for a household, working fulltime jobs and continue our education. So there is no doubt that we manage to keep things in order while our soldier is away. We are the foundations of the military household, we are the heroes on the home front.

The home front is the term commonly used to describe the families of the soldiers left behind during war or separation. And without even needing to sign up, once married into the military and being the person at home while your loved one is away, we automatically are enrolled into this very exclusive club. During this time we may deal with a various amount of emotions as well as stress and constant worry. So with the obvious stress of a deployment or separation, you know have to deal with managing everything on your own as well.

Your spouse or significant other has left for a long deployment or training. What now? If anything like me you will go into “full speed mode”. I wanted to ensure that everything home related was taken care of and my husband didn’t need to worry about anything other than his mission. If he would call home I would not tell him about my stressful day or the dishwasher that had broken. I knew that the job my husband had was not only dangerous, but extremely stressful and he didn’t need any extra worry. To be a military spouse on the home front, you are almost required to be a super hero. Keeping your family together and strong will be the overall success of your home front mission. But what about the burdens of loneliness, worry, frequent moves, financial issues and single parenting during deployments? These are all problems that we deal with when left behind. The important thing is to first accept what is happening to your family and figure out ways to lessen the burden.

Show your feelings: Don’t ever let anyone make you feel like crying is wrong. There is nothing wrong with it, and during this time you are going to be going through a range of emotions. You will know how to deal with it best.

Turn to friends: Allow yourself to accept the help or concern from your friends. Sometimes we feel like we need to hide under our shells, but trust me this transition is easier when you have people to talk to.

Start a routine: Set a routine or make yourself a daily to-do list to help accomplish the many tasks of the day. You now have to manage a lot more alone than you ever will have to, and being organized will help in many ways.

Make goals: Setting a goal for yourself while your spouse is away is a great way to not only feel accomplished, but it will help the time to go by. A good goal that I recommend is going back to school. I started once my husband left, and by the time he returned, I was already on my third semester!

Once you get into a routine, you will be able to handle things with much ease. We become such strong and independent spouses during these times that when things really get tough, you would be surprised at just how well you can handle things without freaking out. There is no doubt in mind that being on the home front isn’t scary, but we smile and take each day at a time.

There are many programs that are available for support on the home front. Depending on your branch of service, look into your local bases’ family support group.

Marine Corps Community Services Center

 

 

 

For more information on your branch of service support group please visit Military OneSource 

Military OneSource consultants are ready to talk with you, too – 24/7. To help you through the tough times. By phone or online. At no cost to you. Contact Military OneSource toll-free 1-800-342-9647, e-mail a consultant, or register online to chat via instant messaging.