Deployment Survival Kit

My friend Ciera's husband deployed on Monday for 6 months.

(Aren't they just cute?!)

We all know how sucky deployments are regardless if your military or not. To cheer her up (and apparently make her cry) I made her this Deployment Survival Kit. I made the card out of The Greeting Farm military guy stamp and some camo paper from my scrap box. The can I made more patriotic with red, white and blue.

Here's the can with the stuff in it. I've posted the contents below and what each item was for.

Paperclip to help you hold it all together

Flashlight to remind you that there is light at the end of the tunnel

Stationary for all the letters you’ll be writing

Pens to sign your X’s and O’s
Envelopes to be sealed with a kiss

Hershey Kisses to remind you of your soldiers kisses

Marbles for when you’ve lost yours

Worry Stone to take your worries away

Life Savers to remind you that you are one

Laffy Taffy to remind you laugh
Mounds Bar to remind you of the “mounds” of love and support you have from family and friends

Kleenex to wipe away the tears

Sucker because deployments suck

I also added this cool poem I found here

The Silent Ranks

I never wore the uniform,
no medals on my chest
The band, it doesn't play for me,
I am not among the Best.
I do not march in cadence,
I do not rate salute.
I stand among the silent ranks,
our devotion absolute.

If you've not worn my shoes,
you do not know my story.
I live a life of sacrifice,
my reward a private glory.
I've wept many silent nights away,
I've kept the home fires burning.
I've worried and I've waited,
as world events were churning.

I've moved more times than you could fathom,
left more people than you known.
I've planted gardens round the world-
very few that I've seen grown.
I've grieved with new-made widows,
and had my share of scares-
when a ship or plane or man was down-
and all I had were prayers.

I am not asking for your sympathy.
(although appreciation would be nice)
I did it quite on purpose though-
I chose to sacrifice.
I'll tell you a secret now,
one you'd never guess.
About the glory that is mine,
it's just enough, no more, no less.

When you and I stand together
as our national anthem plays.
I'll fill with reminiscences
of how I spent those days.
I'll know the pain and joys again,
I'll know freedom isn't free
I'll know I've helped to pay the price

and that the anthem plays for me.

- Elizabeth Soutter Schwarzer
Wife of a United Stated Marine