Hey, everybody, welcome back to Millspouse in the House. I'm your host, Kristi Nix, 22-year active duty Army wife. My husband just recently retired about a year and a half ago. We have three kids, one's at UGA, one's about to start college at Georgia Southern, and my son is almost 13. And I am the head coach at our local gym here in Richmond Hill, Georgia. But with that, let's bring it back to military life. It asks a lot from us families. Deployments, underways, TDYs, long work hours, and obviously lots of time apart. And while technology has made it easier to stay connected than ever before, anyone who's lived this lifestyle knows that sometimes it's the simple things that matter most, like hearing your parents' voice at bedtime or turning the page of a favorite book together, even when you're thousands of miles apart. Today's guest is helping military families do exactly that. Joining me is Bessie Ostrander from United Through Reading, an incredible nonprofit that helps service members stay connected with the children they love through the power of reading aloud. We'll talk about the mission behind the organization, the impact it's having on military families around the world, and how something as simple as story time can help bridge the distance during separations. Before we get into it, remember you can find more stories, resources, and support for military spouses and families at Millspouses.com. And if you're carrying the weight of military life, know that you don't have to do it alone. Here is a quick word from our sponsor, Talkspace. The first morning after they deploy always feels strange. The routines you once shared suddenly become yours alone. You become the planner, decision maker, and emotional anchor all at once. And many military spouses carry that weight quietly. But when the mental load feels heavy, you don't have to carry it alone. Military spouses can access support through TRICARE-covered telehealth therapy, services like Talkspace, and local military spouse communities. Telehealth doesn't mean doing everything alone. You deserve support, too. Welcome back. Today, I am joined by Bessie from United Through Reading. If you've ever wondered how to help your child stay connected to a deployed parent, or if you've experienced the challenges of separation yourself, you are going to want to keep listening because we are going to introduce you to some amazing resources. Bessie, thanks so much for being here today. Before we talk about United Through Reading, tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been a military spouse? How did military life find you? And what has that journey looked like for your family? Yeah, of course. And Christy, thank you so much for having me today. I have been a military spouse for about 16 and a half years, so a long time. Military life kind of found us on a whim. I met my husband in college, and when we graduated, him joining the Navy wasn't anything like in the cards. We talked about it a little bit. I have an older brother who was in the military at the time, so he knew him. And it just really, it wasn't like the first line of defense. It just, it wasn't what we were going to do. But after just living a couple of years as, you know, fresh college grads working in the real world, he did kind of come back to that goal and decided to enlist. So we'd been married for about two and a half years at that point. His first orders were to San Diego, so we were able to live in San Diego for five years. And then we've been back in the Hampton Roads ever since 2015. So where was home originally? I grew up in South Florida, and he is from upstate New York. We met in college in New York, and then after we graduated, we kind of transitioned back to his hometown, and we were just kind of living there for a few years before the military. And then all the way to the, our first station was the West Coast. We were from Atlanta, and we went to the middle of the desert in California. So it was as far as we could go without leaving the country. It was a big change. Right. Yes. We were very lucky with San Diego. It's beautiful. I love it there. Yeah, we got to visit. So I hear you're also a mom of three boys. How has your own family's military experience shaped the work that you do today? And what are the ages of those boys? So three boys, they are 10, 12, and 14. Okay. So they're not equally spread out. That's just the current ages. Rough and tough. They all play sports, football, basketball, some wrestling. So we are always on the go kind of year round, which, you know, as a military family with deployments, that means that I'm doing a lot of things alone, whether it's being the sideline coach or just trying to pep them back up, you know, after a good win or a tough loss. But being a military mom, you know, military kids have shown me how important our program is. I briefly knew about United Thru Reading, I would say, back in the day, right? I'll call that our early military years when we were in San Diego. And my husband was able to make a recording, we'll talk about a little later, but a recording when it used to be on a CD-ROM drive on a ship. So we still have that in a closet somewhere. But my own family has really shown me how important the program is, you know, even at their current age. You know, within the last year, I've had to make a recording for the 10-year-old just to be able to watch because they miss dad. You know, it doesn't matter how old you are, you still miss being able to connect with your family. So just being able to use it in preparations of deployments to stay connected. Absolutely. So for listeners who may not be familiar with United Thru Reading, can you tell us a little bit about the organization's mission and how it got started? Yeah. So United Thru Reading started in San Diego back in 1989 as a small local organization. We've blossomed into a national organization that serves military families across all six branches around the world, including active duty, veterans, the National Guard and reserves. So we have a simple but incredible, powerful mission to be able to connect military families through shared story time, no matter the distance. Yeah. So on the surface, reading a book might seem like a small thing, right? But United Thru Reading has reached millions of military family members over the years. Why do you think reading together has such a powerful impact on military families? So really so many reasons. When you read together, you're not only sharing a story, which is filled with its own special things, whether it's adventure, humor, faraway places, new people, but you're also sharing closeness that reading together brings and making memories for your child, yourself and for the family. When you record these stories and the United Thru Reading app, you're also capturing these moments to keep. So it is truly something that you can have forever, right? Like we love our stories, but like once you read them, they're gone, you know, like our normal bedtime routine. But having this is just such a keepsake. We really believe that reading together is crucial for children because it builds language skills, it strengthens the brain, the brain development, fosters empathy and lays the foundation for lifelong learning and academic success. We want what's best for, you know, children, all kids, and reading together is so important for children. It's something parents and caregivers can be a part of and cherish too. So it's not only the action, but it's the time that you spend together connecting, connecting. Yeah. Yeah. That's so special. So walk us through how this program works, how it's facilitated for the service member and the family. If a service member wants to participate or a parent says, I would like to do this, what does that process look like for them? Yeah. So it's pretty simple. Today's version of United Through Reading, I'd say, we have an app that's available in Google Play Store and the Apple Store. So the first step really is to download the United Through Reading app. Once they've downloaded the app, the app is really going to walk them through the steps that they need to take to make their first recording. I always encourage a service member, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, this special book, grab any book that's already like in your children's library at home. It could be their favorite book that you read every night for bed, or it could just, just grab a book, start somewhere. If they're already on deployment or they're already away, we do have a selection of eBooks in the app, which is great because like I like to say, there's no excuse, right? There's always a way to find a book. Once they've made their first recording and the story has been uploaded, we're going to send it to the recipient. So in the app, it's going to walk them through, you know, who do they want to send the story to? They can send it to more than one person. And then the recipient's going to get an email, you know, saying, John has made a recording for you. Click here to watch your recording. And then they're also going to get an email letting them know that they can order a free copy of the book that's just been read for them. So it's also a great way to build their library because they're going to get that link. If they already have that story, they can pick another book from our list that they can go ahead and, you know, get sent to them and then just keep on making recordings. That's really cool. I think that we participated in this years ago, but we had to go to the USO. Does that sound right? Yeah. Years ago, they were in the USO. And it was pre-recorded before they left. So it wasn't something that they would have access to during a deployment, I don't think. So this was something they had to think about before they left. I like that they can be somewhere else and still surprise the kiddo with, hey, I read you a story. Click this link. That's so special. Yeah. So that's kind of like the base level of what they can do. You know, we could get into it of like, well, I'm already on deployment. I'm on a ship. I'm on a base. How can I find you? Right. If they're on a major ship, there's most likely there's a great chance that if they go to their chaplain's office, the chaplain has a story station set up and they can do that for them and they'll walk them through those steps. So I'd like to think that we have an answer for everything and a way for really most people to make a recording. That's really cool. I love that. So what about the kids? Do you hear stories from families about the difference these recordings make during deployments or these long separations? Yeah, for sure. We always hear appreciation from families that they have made a difference. You know, whether it's the hard times or the meltdowns, it's a great way to kind of have those memories and create laughter. It's really helped with homecomings, especially for younger children, because they were able to not only hear, but watch the service member. It's funny because sometimes I have people come to make a recording and they're like, wait, like you're taking a video of me. They think it's just going to be their voice. And I'm like, no, no. Yeah, we're doing your face too. And it's great because like really the young kids, they're getting to see them every day. So when they're coming back from a deployment, they're not a stranger. They're not afraid of them. You know, I'd like to think that they wouldn't be, but, you know, like out of sight, out of mind. And sometimes it's really hard. So it really does help with coming back from a deployment. Yeah. So Tim's my husband's second year long deployment. He left and our oldest was three and our baby was eight months old. So she was a baby, right? So when he did come home, I think that was before we had FaceTime. Like I don't think we were FaceTiming or any type of digital videoing to see your, I'm actually correct. I had to go to the battalion to use a VTC. I had to sign up for my time slot to see him. I had to bring the girls in the stroller and it was crazy. So it was a little bit awkward when she was now almost two, seeing her dad in person. It was sort of this, hold on, who is that again? It's so heartbreaking, but I would imagine watching these videos and hearing the cadence of their voice as they're moving their body for a story and probably being maybe a little bit playful and childish because it's a story time for their kid is going to bridge that gap on those homecomings. That's really cool. We encourage them to be silly, like read how you would read at home. If we're not facilitating the recording, it's like their own private moment. And even when we're facilitating it, we step out. So it's like, be goofy, make funny noises. If it's an animal, bark, just really act how your children are used to seeing you. Yeah, because you don't get those years back while they're learning and growing. So much happens those first few years. So military families spend a lot of time talking about resilience, but connection is really at the heart of resilience. How does United Through Reading help strengthen those family bonds during deployments, underways, and other separations? Yeah, so reading aloud is such a cornerstone of childhood and something every child deserves and just the closeness it brings. Readers and kids often get cozy and snuggled up. When you think of reading, a lot of times you think of bedtime, right? The stories themselves, the animation and the emotions, just like we talked about it, right? So we try to really portray the stories so the children get that experience. But when you add the distance piece, it does take it to a whole nother level. Often the spouse at home gets to curl up with the kids. They watch the service member. They can maybe read and just kind of like learn to read together, depending on their age. They see their face, they hear the voice, and it really conveys the love. And I think they feel like they can still feel, my parent loves me, even though they're not here, like, you know, they're reading to me and like, they did this for me. It can offer a lot of comfort and ease stress, and it's just a good reminder of the love they share as a family unit. It's a great springboard, not only for talking about the service member, but how they're feeling, whether it's lonely or scared. You know, we don't say just read like the fun, silly books, right? There's all sorts of like social and emotional books that like either we offer or we know that the families have about time apart or separation or coming home. So I think it's important that they, you know, kind of read a variety of books and pre-plan the holidays, you know, like if you're going to be gone for a birthday, there's happy birthday books. We try to do seasonal stuff, right? If you're gone for six months, like you're probably going to miss some kind of holiday. So really planning and having like all of those books covered is just a great way to set up for success as a family. And go through each of those milestones, like most families are counting, doing the countdown, right? And what's in between on the countdown. So to have those little milestone benchmarks of the holidays or birthdays, things like that. You mentioned that's a really cute way to sort of work toward the countdown while still including the parent that's away. So have there been any stories from families that have particularly stayed with you? Kind of as a mom, like the stories from the moms kind of hit us. And I don't want to say it's always the dad leaving, right? We know both parents can leave, but the moms just get so emotional when they have to leave their babies for the first time. I did a recording event last week and I had a mom come up. I was parked at a CYP, which is a child youth program. So they were doing drop off and pick up of kids. And she knew in the next like six months she would be leaving. So she came in our van that we'll talk about a little later. And she recorded four books and I was like, do as many as you want. No one's standing here waiting in line. Like I'm here for you. And she was just so happy, you know? And I reminded her, Hey, you can keep doing this at home. We're going to keep sending you free books. She hugged me after it was like a hundred degrees out. I was like, girl, I am so sweaty. And she was like, I don't care. She was just so thankful. And it's just like that thankfulness. And it's not that anyone needs to be thanked for their work, right? But it just it creates that other connection piece that like what we're doing is important and what we what we're offering matters. Well, it makes people feel seen, right? Their kids are being seen. The service member is being seen. And one of the things I've always said is this is a life you have to live to understand. And for her, a mom, to know that someone is feeling that this is going to be hard for her and let's find a way to bridge that gap. So you're definitely meeting that need. The other thing, too, I know for some of these deployments, we do now have FaceTime and those types of things. But my husband would go on missions where we were not in contact for several weeks at a time. And I, you know, I knew that we were not going to hear from him. And so this is also another way to bridge that gap when the mission doesn't give them access to the new technologies that we can sometimes take for granted. Our kiddos aren't being fully separated from their parents. Yeah. It's also think about at the time difference, right? Because my husband is away and just because he can FaceTime, he's seven to eight hours ahead. Right. We know as a military spouse that it's almost never convenient when they call us. The kids are in bed. We're on the sports field. That's right. So the more the kids get, the more they have their own life that they're trying to maintain. And so I like that this can be like a part of the nighttime routine, regardless of the schedule of the service member. Right. So we're plugging that in. Yeah. And we like to also say it's a great little break for the parent at home, right? Whether mom or dad is washing the dishes, needs a moment, like instead of putting on whatever's on TV, pop on the recording video and it's like you're a little built in babysitter. Yeah. I remember we scheduled a FaceTime with my husband, with my oldest kiddo. It was a family conversation that we all needed to be present for. And I think it was like two weeks out, but that was the first time that we were all going to be together. And so because I needed us to handle that together as a family. And so, yeah, the spouse that's back home, they need that break. They need that time to say, this is your parent and this is what we're going to plug you into while I take a step back and get a bit of a breather. Yeah. Yeah. Military life can create distance, but connection doesn't disappear just because someone is far away. Programs like United Through Reading remind us that even small moments can make a huge difference for families. We'll be right back after a message from Talkspace. Is dad going to be okay? During deployment, military kids don't always say they're scared. They show it. Trouble sleeping, more questions, needing you more than usual, and you're the one holding it all together. That's why support matters. When you have someone to talk to, like a licensed therapist through Talkspace, you have a place to process the hard stuff so you can show up steadier for them. Because when you're supported, your kids feel it too. And we're back with Bessie Ostrander from United Through Reading, talking about the power of stories, connection, and keeping families close, even when they're apart. So let's talk about resources. Beyond recording a story, what other programs or opportunities does United Through Reading offer military families? So one of the biggest benefits we offer military families is the ability to build a free family library, both in the app and at home. So they can record as many stories as they like. Like there's seriously no limit. We love to see, we'll call them repeat users, right, when they don't just record one book, but they come back and they're going to record over and over. Because those are going to be saved in their app library. And then they can return to them again and again. Families can build libraries at home too. So for each recording that's made in our app, a free book can be requested to be sent to home. It doesn't have to be the one that was recorded, so they can experiment with new favorites. UTR can help grow with families, and we have books ranging from like birth to teen. So it is so simplified. We have kind of like this back end Amazon storefront. It's not going to look like Amazon, but we do drop ship from Amazon. So there's about 300 different books on our book list that families can choose from. We update it quite often. So really, I mean, I couldn't imagine a family not being able to find a book on there that would interest them. Yeah. And how cool to get a free book for your kid, you know, like that's not from Chick-fil-A. Exactly. That's awesome. That was one of my pastimes when my kids were little. We would go to the Chick-fil-A playdates. So I know the organization has expanded significantly over the years. What are some of the newer initiatives or programs you're especially excited about right now? So I know in the beginning of our conversation, we talked about like old school United Through Reading, right? With the discs and some of the other ways that we used to share our program. So a lot of the expansion has been on scale and scope of the program. So not only more program, but being able to expand the reach with our recording opportunities by moving to our app platform that we're constantly updating, as well as adding to our mobile story stations. That's the recording van that I kind of mentioned that we had. So staff can visit more communities as well as adding different book distribution features to our app so we can send the books home. We are in our fourth year of our annual Book for the Military Child campaign. This year's book is called Home Moves with Me, which is very great for military families. We also made it available in Spanish for the first time this year, which we're very excited about. How can they get that book? Right. We're talking about this great book. They can get it through our app. They can also get it through one of our many different channels, Fleet and Family, MWR. There's so many different ways that we distribute this book. But on our website, we have a page there where there's discussions about the book, fun activities and different things that they can download. I'll keep going because we have so many different fun things. We have a Veterans Day initiative for our classrooms. We do story time with a service member where we provide a free playlist for classrooms and libraries to use. We make that available worldwide, which I will say is so fun as like a staff and team because we have a tracker and we're like, what state are we not in? What country can we get in? And it's just fun to like watch the reach of the program. And then just lastly, as always, we invite people to check our event page on our website because they can see where we are and try to find us. Yeah. So you mentioned that mobile recording. How frequently does that move about? Or is it pretty much state wherever y'all are home based? So currently we have two of our mobile story stations. We have one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. If I could run you down the street right now, I would show you because our East Coast one is currently parked at my house here in Virginia. Our West Coast one pretty much stays in the San Diego area. We have staff in San Diego. We have a staff in Washington State. So like that one will kind of do a little West Coast tour. My East Coast one will go to Florida, it'll go to North Carolina, it'll go to D.C. We're working on getting a third one, which will probably be kind of central somewhere. But back to checking the website, we really work hard to try to like put our community events, our community partner events, like where have we been invited to, right? What base, you know, is there maybe an event where people can get a free book or visit us or visit the mobile story station to make a facilitated recording with us? Yeah, that's really cool. So when we were stationed at Fort Irwin, I did go visit San Diego, Coronado a lot. So maybe if you're a spouse that's getting around and you can look it up on the website and maybe go do the in-person, but I love the app pretty much eliminates the need for being present in that type of situation. It does. The mobile story station is great because it's like you can't ignore it. Right. So if I park that on the pier and the guys are coming off the ship ready to go home from work, I'm like, over here. Come see me, right? So it's like, I'm taking away the, I'm taking away their reason not to do it. Right. You know, you didn't have to set anything up yourself. You didn't have to look for a book. You just get in the van, have a seat, and we're going to make a recording. Yeah. And I know here in Fort Stewart, before deployments, they have like a day where they bring all the organizations in so families can learn about the resources that are available to them. So it would be really cool for people who maybe just don't know about this yet to see that, to see it, you know, then it would maybe, I know for me, if my husband didn't want to do it, I'd be like, you're going to do that right now. You're going to record a story. Yeah. We will do like pre-deployment briefs and meetings. And when we do that stuff, we say it and the spouse hears it. And if they hear it, like it's game over, right? Because you know, you tell a spouse, she's going to make it. They've made it too easy. They're going to make you do it. Yes. Yeah. And it's foolproof. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. That's exciting. I love hearing about the growth. The app is super cool. Like it could be done from anywhere. I would love to go to the USO and sit in a little quiet room to record on it. It might've been a tape. I can't remember if it was a tape or a disc, but yeah. Okay. So for military spouses listening today, what would you want them to know about accessing United Through Reading resources? Right. So kind of like we just said, it's, it's never been easier, right? We're putting the power of storytime in the, in like their hands with the app. We have launched, kind of redone our website. It's very user-friendly and we have a useful monthly newsletter. That's a great way to learn about what's going on. We're on Facebook. We, you know, we're kind of posting fun little blurbs and events everywhere on social media. So find us and they'll, they'll see, we even post volunteer opportunities, right? So we know as a military spouse, sometimes it gets lonely and we love our volunteers. They come to events with us. They can host events on our behalf. So lots of opportunity. And have you found that these are people that are particularly passionate about reading or these people that are particularly passionate about military families? It is a mix of both. We have a lot of, I, I don't know if you've like found this. I feel like in the military communities, there's definitely a lot of homeschool families and homeschool families are super passionate about like education and reading and learning and just different opportunities. And though the, you will see, I, I will do different events. Like let's say I do events at Naval Base Norfolk, March, June, September, right? Every few months I will see the same families come because I remember faces and I recognize them and the kids come up to the table and they're so excited. And they're like, what different books do I have today? And they just tell me how much they love to read. So I feel like the families that are super passionate about it, they just stay passionate about it, which we love. And then sometimes they do ask like, how can we get involved? How can I help? And then I end up with a great volunteer out of, you know, being at those events. That's really cool. I love that. And I imagine anybody can volunteer. You don't have to be. No. Yeah. Specific. You don't have to be military specific. If they, if they don't have base access and they're volunteering for an event on base, right. We'll help them with that access. But we also do events off base. So that's right. Yeah. That's awesome. All right, Bessie. We're going to have a little bit of fun. We're going to break away from the work that you do. That's so amazing. Get to know you a little bit more. So say the first thing that comes to mind is our lightning round. OK. Favorite children's book. My children's favorite children's book was Dragons Love Tacos. That's so cute. OK. Favorite book of yours. Any genre. If you have one. I'm going to be honest. I feel like my personal time to read is just very limited. But if I am reading, it's some kind of like business or leadership book. That's perfect. I love those count, too. For sure. Yeah. So Kindle, audiobook, or just good old fashioned book with real pages. Good book with real pages. Yeah, I agree. I like holding it in my hands. Yeah. I'm the same. I'm the same. One word that describes military kids. Resilient. Yeah. I feel like I stuck with the word adaptable. Yeah. Watching my kids start school in so many new places and meet new people. And I was always so impressed and I continue to be impressed. Now that they're college age, how adaptable they are. Yeah. Best thing about being a military spouse. So this one for me personally has just been like community. And I could talk all day about community. I love the connections that I've made, you know, from the different duty stations. And even though we haven't had a lot of them, I have been able to like, I've got like the best friends from my California days and, you know, literally California and Norfolk, you know, it's like the two big Navy hubs. So a lot of people bounce back and forth between the two and that community connection just stays so strong. Circles back. That is really cool. My husband was an engineer and I'd say the longer we were in, the smaller that world got and it just felt really cool. I love that. Favorite duty station. Okay. Not many, but I'll be the one. Okay. So you have to choose from. Favorite. And again, I just, I can't pick. They both mean, they both mean so many different things to me. I think of San Diego, it was like our baby Navy days. Like we knew nothing. Like I was the spouse who needed the information. I was. And then we got here and I'm the spouse with all of them. I am. Yeah. Yeah. So they both like really, you know, different. They have different meanings for us. I would say currently we've been here so long as a family, we've just been able to grow like personally, professionally. My kids have mainly grown up here and they are, they're very lucky to be military kids who are rooted. So yeah, that, well, we, we kind of had two, we started with nine moves and then we've been stationed here. We loved it here. And my husband for the first time ever found a way to keep us here twice, then a third time. And so we, our last 10, not even 10 years, our last eight years, we felt rooted. And so it's kind of, we kind of have like the pre and the post. And then we also describe all of our lives like, oh, remember that's when we lived at Knoxville. Oh, remember that's when we lived in Missouri the second time. That's how we tell our family stories. All right. One word to describe United through reading. So we're connection. Connection is our word. I agree. I would say that for sure. Yeah. And if you could put one book into every military family's home, what would it be? So our book for the military child, we do a different book every single year. The last two years, the book has been especially writing for us. This year's book is Home Moves With Me, right? And our goal is to get it in everyone's hands. So yeah, our book for the military child. Yeah. I'd say mine, it would be more for spouses and it's called Book for the Homefront. I read that my very first year as a military spouse, which my husband was also in Iraq the very first year we were married. So it was exactly what I needed to read at the time I read it. And I'd say it's still, it's timeless. So it's a good book to read. Before we wrap up, let's imagine there's a military spouse listening right now whose service member is getting ready for deployment or an extended separation. What's one piece of advice you would give them? So the advice related to our operate because, or our program, because we could give them a whole book of advice, but we're going to focus on United through reading. So I would tell them to make several recordings, add a personal message before you start. So for the service member, it's an active step that they can take to make them feel like they're doing something special for the family. They might be missing special times, right? But this is something special that they can do and like leave behind and still be part of their daily family life, that their face, their voice, and their laugh will be there even when they can't be. And that those recordings will also benefit the spouse. Like we talked about meltdowns, big feelings with the kids. Having that other parent that is away also be able to read that story on demand is so helpful and it just helps the kids feel less alone. Yeah. That's really cool. I love that. So where can listeners learn more about United through reading, find recording opportunities or get involved? Yeah. So visit our website, unitedthroughreading.org, our social media pages, find us on Facebook. We're on LinkedIn. We love to employ our military spouses. And I say that because, I mean, we have a current job opening right now. You know what I mean? So really just find us everywhere. And really, I just hope to find, they see us at an event, a resource table, come up and say hi. And we have, I don't know, 20 friendly staff members. So for all the spouses listening, you mentioned a job. Is that remote work or do they need to be in a specific area? Everything is remote. Yeah. Lovely. We work remote. We come together. We'll get on a tangent. We come together twice a year. We have off sites. So we have our own little community, but day to day is remote. That's so cool. I love that we stumbled upon that. Thank you, Bessie, for sharing. So one of the things I love most about today's conversation is the reminder that connection doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it's as simple as sharing a story. Bessie, thank you so much for joining us and for the work United Through Reading does to support military families around the world. And to our listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, as always, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review and share it with another military spouse who could use a reminder that distance doesn't have to mean disconnection. Follow us at This Is Millspouses and visit millspouses.com for more resources, support and stories from our incredible military spouse community. As always, I'm your host, Kristi Nix, signing off the net.
