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    Articles by Sarah Smiley
    Thirteen years later, meet husband Dustin
    Thirteen years later, meet husband Dustin
    By Sarah Smiley • February 13, 2014 1:29 pm

    Maybe I don’t write about him enough. I mean, I write about what he does for work and how it impacts our lives, but I don’t write about who Dustin is as a person.

    Read Story

    Treasured art a gift through time
    Treasured art a gift through time
    By Sarah Smiley • January 23, 2014 2:38 pm

    My husband and I went back to visit Dot last week and hear about life

    Read Story

    Lincoln’s lessons on depression
    Lincoln’s lessons on depression
    By Sarah Smiley • January 16, 2014 3:52 pm

    During one of my first depressive episodes when I was younger, I clung to stories of Lincoln and his depression.

    Read Story

    The Quiet Stories of 2013
    The Quiet Stories of 2013
    By Sarah Smiley • January 8, 2014 6:25 pm

    There are so many wonderful, quiet stories in communities across the country that never “trend.”

    Read Story

    Life lesson: clean while no one watches
    Life lesson: clean while no one watches
    By Sarah Smiley • January 8, 2014 6:23 pm

    Last week, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was time to clean, purge and reclaim space.

    Read Story

    My thoughts about Christmas then and now
    My thoughts about Christmas then and now
    By Sarah Smiley • December 26, 2013 1:48 pm

    Christmas Day always seemed like the longest day, when in fact it falls soon after the shortest day of the year. This is the benefit of being a kid. All time is warped. Nothing feels quick when you are a kid, except maybe that hour before bedtime.

    Read Story

    Child’s stuffed animal is member of family
    Child’s stuffed animal is member of family
    By Sarah Smiley • December 23, 2013 6:13 pm

    All of my children have had favorite stuffed animals during their childhoods

    Read Story

    Military healthcare has its own set of pros and cons
    Military healthcare has its own set of pros...
    By Sarah Smiley • December 12, 2013 2:37 pm

    Long before the debate over the Affordable Care Act, the military’s own government-run healthcare system has been, for me, a mixed bag.

    Read Story

    Great Stuff: our last line of defense
    Great Stuff: our last line of defense
    By Sarah Smiley • December 5, 2013 12:37 pm

    Of all the household chores and repairs I’ve had to face on my own in Dustin’s absences, the one that I still feared the most, until last week, was using Great Stuff Foam.

    Read Story

    My feelings about Uncle Sam: It’s complicated
    My feelings about Uncle Sam: It’s complicated
    By Sarah Smiley • November 26, 2013 3:18 pm

    If Facebook had a status update option for users’ feelings about the military, mine would be, “It’s complicated.”

    Read Story

    Responding to last week’s Vets Day column
    Responding to last week’s Vets Day column
    By Sarah Smiley • November 22, 2013 10:00 am

    I don’t actually believe that spouses are true veterans. Nor do I think Veterans Day is for or about them.

    Read Story

    Do military spouses qualify as veterans, too?
    Do military spouses qualify as veterans, too?
    By Sarah Smiley • November 14, 2013 4:49 pm

    Dustin told me not to write about military spouses forVeterans Day, but I’m going to do it anyway.

    Read Story

    Lots of ‘he said, he said, he said’ in the household
    Lots of ‘he said, he said, he said’...
    By Sarah Smiley • November 4, 2013 2:00 am

    When the boys asked what I wanted for my birthday last week, I decided to make it less painful for them. “Just take me to the Star Wars concert performed by the Portland Symphony Orchestra,” I said, “and (wink, wink) that will be a great birthday.”

    Read Story

    New way for family to bond
    New way for family to bond
    By Sarah Smiley • October 24, 2013 1:07 pm

    Lately, the family and I have been doing something really old-fashioned at night. Because the sun is setting earlier, we get in our pajamas right after dinner. I light some scented candles, and sometimes I bake cookies or pop popcorn. And then — here comes the old-fashioned part — watch television together.

    Read Story

    Hard to move past this
    Hard to move past this
    By Sarah Smiley • October 10, 2013 2:11 pm

    These are the times when it’s difficult to write a column. After Theresa’s powerful message last week, I have nothing more to add. And yet I’ve thought of little else, except what she and her boys are going through. I don’t have any funny anecdotes about my own sons’ behavior, and I don’t have specific feelings about the shutdown. Every train of thought leads back to Theresa and Landon and their children.

    Read Story

    Words from a grieving Navy widow
    Words from a grieving Navy widow
    By Sarah Smiley • October 3, 2013 3:09 pm

    I regretted last week’s column as soon as it was published. In particular, I regretted that I wrote this: “[O]ur spouse’s jobs don’t become significantly more dangerous just because the U.S. is taking action [in a conflict].” I regretted it because Monday morning, my Navy-wife friend, Theresa, lost her husband, Landon, in a helicopter crash in the Red Sea.

    Read Story

    So … about that fear of flying…
    So … about that fear of flying…
    By Sarah Smiley • September 19, 2013 1:46 pm

    After nearly 17 years of an all-consuming fear of flying that left me grounded, I got on a plane in July with my husband and flew to Washington, D.C. I even flew back without Dustin.

    Read Story

    That moment when you’re too old to play
    That moment when you’re too old to play
    By Sarah Smiley • September 6, 2013 3:00 am

    This week, my oldest son, Ford, begins seventh grade. He’s technically been in “middle school” for a year now, but this summer was the first time I saw, with startling frequency, a glimpse of the changes ahead: my first baby is stuck in that painful space between a boy and a man.

    Read Story

    Navy’s Returning Warrior Workshop breaking mold
    Navy’s Returning Warrior Workshop breaking mold
    By Sarah Smiley • August 19, 2013 10:00 am

    You have thoughts about what the military is “like.” All of us do. Typical stereotypes include the following:

    Read Story

    Week alone means kids are growing up
    Week alone means kids are growing up
    By Sarah Smiley • July 5, 2013 7:58 pm

    I knew this would happen. Indeed, I told you that it would happen. My youngest son, Lindell, went into kindergarten in September as a baby, and he came out in June a little boy.

    Read Story

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