Honey to do...

      When going on a vacation or travel back home theres always a million things to do before hand. Bags to pack for the kids, fun things for the kids to do in the car to keep them entertained, clean the house before leaving, make sure to have the oil changed, cash in my wallet, and a plan to  be prepared whether it is bringing a swim suit or dress clothes for church. Well the same goes for a deployment except its not a vacation of two weeks it is 9 months or longer! Theres alot of preparation.
SOLDIERS PACKING
 The soldiers have list of things they need to pack and make sure they have.
                        For instance(Not even close to being the complete list):
4 uniform sets
2 pair of combat boots
running shoes
8 pair of "civilian socks"
8 pair of military socks
personal hygiene (shampoo, soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste, razors...ect)
All their military gear which is a couple pages long of what they need.

So all the gear that is piled in the basement needed to be packed and accounted for which required ALOT of time, patience and helping out my soldier. We started off by bringing all the army gear and things he needed to the living room, Mike handed me papers with lists on them and a pen. I would read off what he needed and in what bag the items would go in, then marked off the list. After that part is complete then its time to pack the bags! Basically there is alot of gear and clothes and not enough room so it requires pushing, pulling, squeezing, tugging, refolding, repacking to get everything in the bag that needs to go. It takes both my soldier and I to get this accomplished. Let me tell you that is a JOB!
     At a deployment meeting we were told the soldiers schedules would be like they are here. Morning PT, Lunch, work, dinner then off unless on a mission. When my soldier is home he has kids to play with, tv to watch, games to play and a wife to hang out with. So it was a MUST to find things for him to bring to stay busy on his down time.
PERSONAL ITEMS
Magic jack
phone
bible
notebooks
computer (skype)
movies
games

HONEY TO DO: about 2 weeks before deployment things need to be done So I make a list, and hang it on the kitchen cupboard and Mike adds to what he wants to get done also before leaving...looked like this...
Daddy, Dylan date
Date night
need contact info how to get a hold of him in case of an emergency on my end
PAPERS PAPERS PAPERS (power of attorneys, wills, his unit phone contact info...ect)
Mini Vacation
Put together the boys trampoline ect...
 A few days before the deployment day I looked at the Honey to do list hanging on the cupboard except it was scribbled on and finished. If there was ever a time I wouldn't mind my soldier not getting what I asked done, that would of been the time. It was a little sad tearing it off the cupboard and throwing it away because it only meant one thing...DEPLOYMENT TIME!