Being away from home a lot meant that my Soldier would miss many moments with his family and friends. The first time he deployed to Afghanistan, it was in November. He would miss Christmas with his family for the first time.
It was difficult for him to leave his wife and small children, but duty called. Although we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in early November before he left, our emotions got the best of us.
We wanted to find a way to share memories and thoughts from home, while he was away.
Stay connected though the art of letter writing
I love letter writing! Even though we have email and phone texting, receiving letters can brighten someone’s day. That’s exactly what my goal was for my Soldier.
In fact, during World War I, the main form of communication from the homefront to Soldiers was letter writing. Those letters helped morale and brought stories from home to those serving in the Great War.
Letter writing is a way to tell stories, share moments, and feel connected to the recipient. Letters can be long, short, or anything in between. Handwritten letters also add a personal touch.
That gave me some ideas to capture memories from home for my Soldier!
Send thoughts from home with postcards
Postcards were a wonderful way to send a quick note from wherever I happened to be. I carried postcard stamps with me. If I were at the beach, visiting another city, or just wanting to write a note, postcards captured the moment.
I purchased a postcard wherever I was, wrote a quick note about what I was doing, and dropped it in the local mailbox.
Then I had another grand idea to expand where postcards came from! I reached out to friends and family around the country and asked them to do the same.
After some time passed, my Soldier had a beautiful collection of postcards from around the country sent by people who loved and cared about him. He received messages that were heartfelt, funny, or just a note about life at home.
Sandboxx Letters
A personal note along with a photo is a wonderful way to capture the moment. As the old saying goes: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Our family does lots of activities, which are perfect photo opportunities to capture events or silly moments.
Sandboxx Letters make it possible to take a picture and write a message, with a few phone taps.
These electronic messages get printed by Sandboxx as a physical letter and sent to the destination address. While Sandboxx Letters are typically used to send letters to boot camp, you can send letters to deployed Soldiers, too! It takes a little longer to arrive, but the moments captured are priceless and mean so much!
Keep a Journal for Treasured Memories
We wanted to keep a diary of memories for my Soldier to read when he returned home. We kept a simple, lined journal around for anyone to write in.
The children loved writing in the journal to share the day’s activity, a funny story, or just to write how much they missed their Dad.
They drew pictures and wrote fascinating accounts of fun activities, family adventures, and school achievements.
They were so excited for Daddy to come home and read about all their stories.
If friends visited the family, they got to write a personal note in the journal too. It was a lovely way to record thoughts and heartfelt messages.
These treasured memories became a keepsake that my Soldier got to read when he returned home again. The children were so happy to relive their memories with him!
Keep in touch while your Soldier is away
Keeping in touch with your Soldier while they are away can make their day! Letters and journals become sweet memories for years to come. Being able to reread the messages and stories over again makes it all the more fun to relive those times.
You’ll enjoy writing to your Soldier and capturing special moments. It’s a simple gesture that means so much!
