Making it in the MilLife

The folks at Sesame Street are at it again.  The same folks who brought you the Talk, Listen, Connect initiative and last year’s When Parents are Deployed special with Cuba Gooding, Jr., have a new project on the horizon.  Entitled Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change, this latest production takes on the issue of families welcoming home injured service members.

From the press release:

” Featuring Queen Latifah, John Mayer and Elmo, this half-hour HD program tells stories of service members who return home with injuries, visible and invisible, and explores the heroic struggles their families face in discovering a new way of finding a ‘new normal’.  The special, which premieres in conjunction with April as the Month of the Military Child, salutes the extraordinary courage and strength of these military families and offers the general public a powerful glimpse into what they often must endure.”

The special will premiere on PBS April 1st at 8pm ET/PT (check your local listings). 

If you’re anywhere along the Eastern seabord, I hope you already have this year’s Spouse Symposium on your calendar.   It’s coming around a little earlier this year and will be taking place on Thursday, May 14th at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.  The presentations and panels have always been great, but, I’m particularly excited about two of our sessions….

Back by popular demand, MAJ Art Finch (PhD) will be sharing his insights with us on the traits that make our service member spouses so unique and why we may not always understand them.  I Love You, but You’re Driving Me Crazy was the opening for our panel on Building Strong Military Marriages last year.  When Art took the stage, everyone was riveted.  The other panelists were riveted – they were peeved with me for making them follow Art.  No one wanted him to get off the stage.  I think they would have gladly listened to him for the rest of the day.  Everytime I peeked out at the audience, everyone’s heads were nodding, people were either smiling or laughing hysterically.  This year, we’re going to give everyone what they want and give Art his own time slot.  This presentation alone is why you shouldn’t miss this year’s event. 

But, if you need another reason, how about our afternoon panel entitled: Culture Clash – Military Spouses and the Media.  Sarah Smiley, the author of Going Overboard, the Misadventures of a Military Wife; Tanya Biank, author of Army Wives and consultant to the Lifetime series of the same name; and Laura Dempsey, co-founder of Blue Star Families will be joining us along with other panelists to discuss how military spouses are being portrayed in the media, what’s the perception and who’s shaping it.

We will once again be honoring the Heroes at Home Military Spouse of the Year during our luncheon.  This is always a moving tribute to the contributions of military spouses to the mission.  This year’s speaker is slated to be Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  In addition to what we’ve outlined here, you should stay tuned because we may have some additional surprises in store for you….

To register for the symposium, call 1 (888) 834-6622 M-F between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m..  For more information or to register online, go to www.moaa.org/spousesymposium or e-mail me at moaaspouse@moaa.org.