During deployment of National Guard or reserve troops to Iraq or Afghanistan, spouses on the home front have been largely invisible to our collective consciousness. A total of 18 spouses living in rural Wisconsin were interviewed to identify sources of stress and coping strategies. Stressors varied from predeployment through postdeployment, as did coping responses. During predeployment, spouses articulated that the primary stressor was their lives being "on hold." During deployment, five stressors summarize the experience: worrying, waiting, going it alone, pulling double duty, and loneliness. Communication technology made it possible for most spouses to stay in touch using telephone, e-mail, or even Webcam. Keeping busy-managing personal, family, and household responsibilities-was the most commonly identified coping strategy. Postdeployment was a period of adjustment while couples searched for a new normal. Throughout all deployment phases, skilled and astute nurses can assist families toward health and healing.

With increasing evidence that life-style is an important influence on health, three nursing faculty members at the University of Minnesota implemented a learning project to enable students to assess, plan, and evaluate their own life-styles. The goal was to have the students attempt to make positive changes. As part of a "health concepts" nursing course, students became much more aware of social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors that either enhanced or detracted from their ability to achieve their ideal life-styles. The students responded favorably to this assignment because of the potential benefits of investing in themselves while pursuing the rigorous program leading to a nursing degree.

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