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by Michelle Galvez Before entering the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va. Thursday, my kids were strenuously warned to use their inside voices, walking feet and look with their eyes, but not with their hands. I truly enjoy introducing my children to art and culture but I was a bit nervous about the potential for too-up close and personal interaction between them and the priceless and breakable masterpieces inside.

I am deep in the ‘organization’ phase of our pending PCS and just barely creeping into the ‘eat the pantry/fridge’ phase. A civilian who hears about this second phase might give you an odd look and wonder if it’s really a euphemism for something deeper, something sinister. But unfortunately it’s a reality of military life and one that usually ends with me facing off with a lone jar of olives.

Mother's Day is approaching and advertising is out in force to remind us to thank our moms on the big day.  While you're celebrating your mom, don't forget to thank the mothers all around you as well, particularly the military moms.

That's just one thing I took away from a roundtable of military spouses led by Representative Glenn Nye (D-Va) of the House Armed Services Committee.  Rep. Nye organized the roundtable after Blue Star Families brought the abrupt halt of the MyCAA program to his attention earlier this week.

Most military spouses experience the mid-deployment blues, and as I near the halfway point of my husband's 14-month absence, I recognize the signs; in my case, though, the mid-deployment black-and-blues have rendered me useless. Last fall, I fractured my foot and wore a cast for six weeks; just as that was healing, I slipped on a patch of black ice and hit my head.

A resume is a vital tool in the job search process. Creating a resume that clearly describes your skills that match the employer’s needs seems to be a challenge to some. Here are some guidelines that should be considered when creating your resume:

A few years ago, two military spouses, Rebecca Poynter and Joanna Williamson - entrepreneurs and businesswomen - decided that they had just had ENOUGH of the tax differences, the standing in line to change their drivers licenses, voting in a strange place or not voting at all, not having their personal property with joint title because of tax issues, and the myriad of other consequences of having to change their state of residency every time they PCSed with their military spouses.

I like to think of it as Murphy’s Law for Military Spouses: when our spouses are away, everything that can go wrong, likely will. The dishwasher breaks, the car gets a flat, the kids get the chicken pox, the dog rips a hole in the carpet – and all at the same time, no less. You name it, and there is a military spouse who can top it with a tale of her own.