"When we heard about my husband's upcoming nine-month overseas military rotation, I started making a plan. I had two kids under 4, I was a stay-at-home mom, and I was working on a graduate degree that required overseas research. I had recently watched two mom friends of mine struggle through these rotations - the reality of being a military spouse hits hard when you have to become two parents at once."
"Our first few weeks in Spain were difficult - getting a cell phone, Internet, bank account, and our residency cards, for example, wasn't easy. Plus, the kids had a hard time adjusting. They didn't hate their new school, but they didn't love it right away, either. There were no other English-speaking kids there, but the teachers spoke English and were very kind."
When my husband received a nine-month overseas military rotation, I planned to move with our two children under four to Spain while finishing graduate research. I arranged preschool, applied for a Non-Lucrative Visa, found housing, won a travel grant, and stored belongings. Arrival involved bureaucratic hassles and the children struggled to adjust to a non-English environment. Teachers spoke English but peers did not, and early days were emotionally and logistically challenging. I chose the move to avoid solitary struggle at home and to combine solo parenting with my research. Over time the family adapted and ultimately thrived.
Read at Business Insider
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