So you know a service member’s spouse…

Everyone knows of a service member or their family member who has experienced a crisis. People ask me all the time what they can do for families. So, if you personally know (meaning, you know them in person and not over the internet) a service member’s spouse, here are some things you can do for them.

Even a spouse with a reliable car (like me) needs car maintenance. If you take care of your spouse’s car, offer to take care of your neighborhood service member spouses car. If you can’t afford to pay for both, heck, the spouse would be happy to just call you to take it to the mechanic so they don’t have to take the time to do it themselves.

Who takes care of your lawn? Assume a service member’s family has a similar arrangement. Offer to automatically go over to your neighborhood service member’s yard and mow it, fertilize it, and generally take care of it.

Have your neighborhood military spouse over for dinner. Have your wife take them out. Baby-sit their kids so they can get out with the girls. Before their husband leaves, tell them you’re keeping an eye out on the family.

Know a single soldier? What do you do for your parents? Odds are good that their parents might need the same thing.

What if you don’t know a soldier’s family personally? Call the Family Assistance Center and offer gift certificates to your mechanic, your local grocery chain, Target, a department store, a salon, a mall, a movie theater, day care centers, lawn service, whatever.

None of the above sound glamorous. But, it’s the little things that alleviate some of a soldier’s worry. Josh doesn’t worry about me much because I am taken care of. Know a spouse or family member, take care of them the way you would want someone to take care of your spouse if roles were reversed. You do the little things, you’re showing you can be counted on when crisis hits.