Hey. Let me guess…. your spouse wears army boots…
…not because they’re fashionable, but because it’s part of the uniform. And you’re most likely far from home and family. And speaking of family, they have no idea what your life is about to entail or how to help guide you through it all. You’re literally in the trenches, trying to figure out what side is up and when do they stop going out to the field!?! Sound familiar? Then you’ve found the right place. Take a breath. Nobody hands you a manual when you marry into this life — and that deer-in-the-headlights look you’re wearing right now? Every single one of us had it.
One minute you’re learning what PCS means, and the next you’re packing up a house, driving to a duty station you’ve never heard of, and figuring out where the commissary is on your own. And when you surface long enough to explain any of it to the people back home, you get the look, that well-meaning civilian head tilt and the “aww, I could never do that”, as if… and you might smile so hard your face cracks.
The acronyms pile up, the moves add up, the deployments are brutal, and sometimes your eyes leak even when you don’t want them to. (Btw, I hate when that happens.) Seriously. No judgment.
Here’s what I want you to know: you can do this. Not just survive it, actually do it, with your head held high and your sense of humor mostly intact. I know because I was you.
I’m a retired Army wife with almost 23 years in these boots, and then my sons went and enlisted, so add another 8 years as an Army mom. I built Household 6 Actual because somebody needed to put all the things nobody tells you in one place, practical, honest resources that actually help. No fluff, no toxic positivity, just real tools for real military life.
Pull up a chair. You’re not alone anymore.
The Army will tell you they have a system. Bless their hearts.
How I Can Help
Getting Here
Whether you followed him to his first duty station straight out of AIT or you’re a seasoned spouse staring down another set of orders — arriving somewhere new is its own kind of hard. You don’t know anybody, it took you three days to find the commissary that was a mile away, and your GPS has absolutely no idea where the back gate is. These resources will help you land on your feet wherever the Army decides to put you this time.
Getting Started
The Army runs on acronyms. PCS, AIT, BAH, COLA, DEERS, TRICARE, and that’s just the ones you’ll hear before breakfast. Keep up, babe.
Before long you and your soldier will be having entire conversations that would take normal people ten minutes in about two. Until then, let’s get you up to speed on the benefits, the unwritten rules, and everything nobody thought to tell you, without the overwhelm.
Getting Organized
The Army will tell you they have a system. Bless their hearts. Meanwhile you’re the one actually keeping everything together on the home front, and that requires more than a wall of acronyms and a whole lot of hurry up and wait. Let’s get the important stuff organized so at least one of you has it together.
Getting Through It
You know that time your toddler hid your keys and you were trapped in the house for three days? Or the furnace quit in January and you spent 45 minutes on hold with the housing office while the kids wore their coats inside? That’s deployment. Murphy’s Law doesn’t just visit, he moves in, puts his feet up, and helps himself to whatever’s left in the fridge. These tools won’t make it easy but they’ll help you survive it with your sanity mostly intact.
Everything you need to navigate this life is in one place.
Just got orders to Fort Hood?
Welcome to Central Texas, where the iced tea is sweet, “bless your heart” is not always a compliment, “y’all” is both singular and plural, and if somebody tells you you’re precious you might oughta rethink some recent life choices. But that’s a whole ‘nuther can o’ worms. Whether you’re landing in Killeen, Harker Heights, Nolanville, Copperas Cove, Belton, Temple, Gatesville, or anywhere in between, the Fort Hood Newcomer Guide was made specifically for you.
Who is Household 6 Actual?
A retired Army wife with almost 23 years in these boots and another 8 as an Army mom, and then I went and got the degrees to explain what I already lived. B.S. in Psychology. M.A. in Human Services, Marriage and Family focus. Doctoral coursework in Transformative Leadership. I built Household 6 Actual because the resources I needed when I was brand new didn’t exist, so I made them.
Ready to get started?
Everything you need to navigate this life is in one place. No fluff, no filler, just practical tools built by someone who has been exactly where you are. The Army always said if they wanted you to have a spouse they would have issued one with your TA-50. Surprise they came anyway, and figured it out. So can you.