Mighty Milspouse: Meet Claire Dieterich

Kait Hanson
Apr 29, 2020 4:08 PM PDT
1 minute read
Afghanistan War photo

SUMMARY

As a West Point cadet, Claire Dieterich thought she would be career military. She commissioned as a Military Police officer in the U.S. Army in 2010 and met her now-husband, Kevin, while she was stationed in Washington state. During her time on acti…

As a West Point cadet, Claire Dieterich thought she would be career military. She commissioned as a Military Police officer in the U.S. Army in 2010 and met her now-husband, Kevin, while she was stationed in Washington state. During her time on active duty, she deployed to Afghanistan and shortly before her five-year contract was up, she gave birth to her first child and decided to take life in a different direction.


"Leaving active duty was an easier decision than I thought it would be," she shared. "While I loved my time in the Army and am so proud of it, I knew that it wasn't the long-term lifestyle that I wanted for myself or for my family. I [transitioned into working] as a project manager and oversaw projects that put fire alarm and security systems in schools and hospitals. While I did enjoy that I was making local schools and hospitals safer, especially as a parent myself, it wasn't something I wanted to do long-term."

It was in this period of transition that a lightbulb went off for Dieterich.

(Courtesy of Claire Dieterich)

"When I was pregnant with my second child and working in corporate America, I knew that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom before he was born," she explained. "But I also wanted to create something as an outlet for my passion of cooking that I could grow into an actual job. From this, 'For the Love of Gourmet' was born!"

For The Love of Gourmet is a website founded on the basis that delicious food does not have to be hard or take all day to prepare.

"I've always loved to cook, and I am a big believer that cooking good food doesn't need to be difficult. When I was working full time and as a mom, sometimes it truly is hard to get dinner on the table," Dieterich said.

(Courtesy of Claire Dieterich)

Dieterich's recipes, complete with mouth-watering photography, range from dinner to dessert, snacks, drinks and entertaining spreads.

"I wanted to share the simple joys of cooking with others and encourage everyone to get into the kitchen even if they previously didn't enjoy or didn't have time to cook," she shared.

Today, Dieterich navigates life as a veteran, military spouse and mom of three in Seattle, Washington.

(Courtesy of Claire Dieterich)

What piece of advice would you give to fellow military spouses?

Find your tribe and hold them close. I didn't have kids yet when my husband deployed, and it was very, very lonely. I had just moved to Washington and didn't know anyone yet, and the man I loved was on the other side of the globe. The friends that I made got me through that deployment. Having been the person deployed and the person who has been the one home, I can say that it is much harder to be the person here waiting and worrying. My friends made sure I stayed busy; we went on weekend trips and explored the Pacific Northwest together. And my second part of advice is to find a hobby for yourself. I started running ultramarathons in college, but when my then-boyfriend now-husband was deployed I ran even more. I trained hard and did a lot of races, ultimately laying the groundwork for me to achieve my goal of running the Badwater Ultramarathon. My running goals gave me something to focus on.

What is your life motto?

You can achieve your dreams. And also, it's OK if those dreams change. At 20 years old, I thought I would be in the Army for 20 plus years. At 25, I thought I would climb the corporate ladder. And at 30, I was a stay-at-home mom to three kids with a food blog that I wanted to grow into something big. I've achieved all that I've wanted to, but my dreams have also changed as I have changed. That doesn't mean I've failed at a previous goal, it just means I'm focusing on a different one.

If you could pick one song as the theme song of your life, what would it be and why?

It's so hard to pick one song, but because it is my boys' favorite song, I will have to go with "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco. I think it's such a fun, upbeat song about working hard and achieving your dreams. Not to mention it's a great song to run to!

What has been your toughest professional challenge?

Hanging up my uniform for the last time was hard. Even though I knew I didn't want to continue serving my country in that way, it was still a big part of my life that came to a close and there were a lot of emotions wrapped into that. I spent years working hard to get into West Point, then years working hard there, then years serving my country. I met my husband through the military. I live in a place that I love and may have never traveled to had I not been in the military. I am who I am today because I was in the Army, even though I no longer serve. Even though it was the right decision to close that chapter and start something new, it was still hard for it to be over because I had worked so hard to get there.

What's your superpower?

I'm a multi-tasker and can organize my day to ensure I get everything done that I need to. That means I wake up two hours before my kids do to work out and edit blog posts. It means I have adventures with my kids in the morning and test recipes when they nap. I plan out my day to take advantage of the time that I have to ensure everything gets done. I'm not unstoppable, I definitely take afternoons off when I need to, but for the most part, I feel really balanced and happy to be able to focus on my family and also something outside of my family that I'm passionate about and want to grow.

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