It's that time of year: PCS season. Whether we are moving or not, in a military community, there is no escape. Either we are moving or some of our friends are moving, or both. This year for me it's both, and this is the part I dread the most: saying "good-bye." We will be among the last of our PCSing friends to leave our assignment this summer, so we are spectators at the painful parade of departures, enduring the season of "lasts" with everyone who is leaving. Last chapel service, last dinner at a favorite restaurant ...

School's out and the kids are home. Do they have too much time on their hands? Mine are managing to stay quite busy -- and keep me the same --  but the season is young. I have come across some ideas for filling some of the lazy days of summer if they get too lethargic:

This week's Spouse Calls covers a book written especially for military dads. Armin Brott, author of several books for fathers, talks about his book and about the special challenges of a military fatherhood, particularly during deployment. Brott also writes a column, Ask Mr. Dad, and offers parenting advice via radio, television and the internet.

Click here to read a post from a military stay at home dad on the Spouse Calls blog, here and 

No more lunches to pack for the rest of the summer. School is out, and graduation is behind us. When classes resume this fall, I will have one less lunch to pack, as the oldest of my three children will be away at college. We are moving to another assignment in Germany, but he will be in the U.S. to begin his freshman year.

Friends and readers of my column will know this has been much on my mind lately, as I've already written about the subject of children growing up and the process of preparing for a military child to go to college.

June Walbert is an Army reservist, a former stock broker and a financial planner with United Services Automobile Association, whose advice turns up on CNN, The New York Times, AFN, Military.Com and many other media outlets -- even YouTube. June was in Germany this month conducting financial seminars for military spouses, and I spoke with her about how military families are affected by the current economy.

Mixing marketing with Memorial Day, the Lifetime network is promoting Season 3 of its popular series Army Wives with a web site dedicated to real life Army wives in a feature called "Homecoming." The "Real Army Wives" site has videos of the experiences of Army couples as they reunite following deployment, as well as a message board for spouses to give their own feedback.

The issues of daily life just look different through the eyes of military families. Stars and Stripes has produced several articles lately that bring this point home.

• Today's paper includes a story about doulas, how they assist expectant moms and how this service is especially significant to women when their husbands are deployed. In this story, the doula who was interviewed is also a military wife. Good to see how we are supporting each other as a community. Click here to read this story by Stripes reporter Charlie Reed.