AWTR Show #875: InDependent Wellness Summit: Flourish

As military spouses, we can trick ourselves into feeling that we need to take care of everyone else around us before taking care of ourselves. PCSing, long separations, and being away from families can all be barriers to wellness. But the InDependent Wellness Summit is here to show you’re not alone in this journey and that wellness is important.

InDependent Wellness Summit is a week long virtual event for all service spouses. It can feel hard sometimes to connect to both yourself and the community when you are a military spouse. So let’s come together and support each other. This year’s theme is Flourish, which perfectly sums up how all of us want to feel after 2021 and 2020. We can all flourish even through continued uncertainty. In the military community, there’s always some uncertainty, but we can still flourish.

InDependent is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded by five military spouses who saw a need in the military community for a social wellness program tailored to service spouses. They offer a positive and inclusive community platform for military spouses to connect through in-person and virtual wellness programs and resources. Their biggest program, the InDependent Wellness Summit is celebrating their seventh year in 2022! They created this event to be virtual because they knew that it removed some of the biggest barriers to wellness that military spouses face- travel, childcare, cost, and time.

Ali Taylor has the honor of volunteering with an incredible team as the Summit Chair of InDependent and also currently works in digital marketing at a non-profit patient advocacy organization. Originally from San Diego, she is currently living in Colorado with her husband, their daughter, and another baby expected to arrive in April. She and her family are enjoying all the beauty Colorado has to offer while they are stationed there!

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about InDependent, check out their website here or connect with them on social media via Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Also, don’t forget about the giveaway! One lucky listener will get the chance to win an All-Access Pass to the InDependent Wellness Summit, with a value of over $400. For a chance to win, just comment on any social media post sharing this podcast. We will randomly choose one winner one week after this podcast airs.

Resource Recon with Sharita and Brooklyn

This week’s installment is from Blogger Kathleen Palmer, with the piece entitled “The Self-Care Conundrum.” She writes: 

I am not sure if you share the same loathing I do when I hear the term “self-care”.

It is right up there with the word “resilience”. I know the two terms are necessary and I know they are a part of our modern, military vernacular. Yet, I just can’t get past the irritation that I feel when someone asks me, “Are you taking time for self-care?”

What does self-care look like to a weathered military spouse? (Sorry, not loving the term “seasoned” right now either).

For some, self-care comes in the form of pampering (massage, nails, facials). This is not my form of self-care as I find myself fending off pangs of guilt as “to-do” lists race through my brain almost in sync with the piped in meditative music.

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda B.

Today we are showcasing Army Wife Network’s Everyday Empowerment recipient; Michelle Bowler nominated by our very own, Content Editor, Sarah Peachey

As an Army wife of 9+ years, Michelle is the founder of the Waiting Warriors podcast, blog, and social media, which helped military and first responder love ones know how to thrive in their life of supporting service. On her website for The Waiting Warrior you’ll find workbooks and modules to help you thrive as a couple during a deployment. She shares that this program isn’t your typical deployment briefing information or old pamphlets from the 90’s. This is customizable, actionable and loaded with ideas made specifically for you to give you the confidence to rekindle that spark. Furthermore, it states on her website that all the time apart the military throws at you is hard on the home front. You can only fake it until you make it for so long. It’s easy to miscommunicate and for your service member to seem out of touch. Soon, you feel hopeless. It’s not that there is a lack of love, but a lack of connection. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are simple things you can do to be empowered and keep a thriving relationship, no matter the distance.

Thank you so much to Michelle Bowler for doing your part to empower military families all across the globe.

News 6 with Jolene

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of Feb. 7, 2022, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:

Privatized Housing Inspection Begins for Navy & Marines

The Navy and Marines have begun third-party inspections on all privatized housing, reported Federal News Network. This is part of the 2020 defense authorization act passed by Congress to have a better understanding of the living conditions in privatized military homes. “The inspections will be performed by two-person teams of certified home inspectors, graduate engineers and professional engineers,” a Marine Corps release stated.

DoDEA Schools Achieve High Reading & Math Scores

The Department of Defense Education Activity schools have “achieved among the highest scores in the nation for fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math,” reported Military Times. “Overall, fourth-grade students in DoDEA schools scored higher in math than their peers in 98% of the states. The DoDEA eighth-graders scored higher in math than students in 94% of the states,” said Military Times.

US Military Uses Trained Dolphins Protect Harbors

You may have heard of military working dogs but did you know that the United States military uses trained dolphins and sea lions? Military.com shared a story that the sea animals have been used since 1967 “for military applications such as mine clearing, force protection and recovery missions.” The dolphins protect harbors from ships and mines by using biological sonar to “detect hazards beneath the surface.”

SuperBowl Commercials: Behind the Scenes

The Superbowl is right around the corner and whether you’re cheering for the Rams or the Bengals, we’re all waiting in anticipation for the commercials. Business Insider went behind the scenes to learn more about the making of Superbowl commercials. NBCUniversal is charging $6.5 million per 30-second advertisement.

You can check out more of this week’s top stories here.

Thank You

Thank you for tuning into this week’s episode. Please leave a five-star rating and review on Apple podcasts, then send us a screenshot of your review to info@armywifenetwork.com or DM us on Facebook or Instagram @armywifenetwork to receive a special in-real-life gift as a thank you on behalf of AWN. We appreciate your engagement and support.

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