In this episode of Family Guidons, Michelle, Kathy, and Charlotte talk about one of the hardest parts of military life: the long, stretching days of deployment. Through heartfelt listener emails and personal stories, they share practical and emotional ways to get through the endless weeks and months — from building your village and creating new traditions to breaking time into smaller milestones and finding purpose in the waiting. If you’ve ever felt like time slows to a crawl during deployment, this conversation is for you.

00:00 Intro

02:00 Listener email from a military child about the weight of waiting

04:30 How deployment changes your perception of time

07:00 Empty nest deployment during COVID

09:30 Newlywed deployment + early uncertainty

12:00 Handling milestones and hard weekends alone

14:30 What helps when the days feel endless

17:00 Building your village + accepting social invitations

19:30 Listener email: cleaning, distraction, nighttime loneliness

22:00 Productive projects to move forward (painting, organizing, home goals)

24:30 Creative coping (home projects, small improvements, purpose-driven tasks)

26:30 Staying connected: texting, video calls, Marco Polo app

29:00 Supporting the deployed service member emotionally

31:00 Planning ahead for birthdays and holidays

33:00 Countdown within a countdown + celebrating small wins

34:30 Listener email from active duty member on health & wellness

36:00 Closing encouragement + final thoughts

Links:

Email: [email protected]

Defining Daily Victories During a Military Deployment: Navigating the Holidays - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH6GukafBcg

Handling Travel During Deployment of Your Service Member - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62jataTay1g

Operation Gratitude: https://www.operationgratitude.com/

Harper’s Homefront Heroes: https://theplanbylaurentruslow.com/pages/360-degree-plan-deep-dive

South Carolina National Guard / https://www.scguard.ng.mil/

Youtube / scnationalguard

Facebook / scguard

Instagram / official_scguard

Twitter / scnationalguard

Flickr / https://www.flickr.com/photos/scguard/

DVIDS / https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/SCNG