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Celebrating Christmas In The Military 35

Celebrating Christmas In

The Military

By Jacey Eckhart

I was born holiday blessed. Yet the moment I
married into the military, I became holiday
cursed. My husband has deployed four times
over Christmas, suffered travel orders every
December, and always pulled the duty section
that worked on Christmas Day.
I would like to say I was always
completely OK with this particular chain of
events. Indeed, I was not. So I took notes from
spouses who seemed like they knew what they
were doing when it came to celebrating
Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza or Winter
Solstice alone.
If you are going through your first or
second or fifth holiday deployment, here are
some of the things we hear from our
Military.com readers that really help couples get With family? With friends? Then go there.When
through the holidays: my kids were age 8 and 4, I wanted them to
have Santa surrounded by lots of people who
Carry Kleenex: During our first Christmas loved them. So I packed everything and went to
deployment, every time I thought of my my parents' house even though my neighbors
husband on the ship alone at Christmas, I thought I was crazy to take on the trip. My
overflowed with tears. I couldn’t imagine brothers spontaneously decided we would have
anything more lonely. I was all of 22. So every an all-day Monopoly tournament Christmas
time I saw something that reminded me of Day, which really distracted me from the fact
Christmas, I imagined my darling and burst into my husband was gone.Yay for awesome
tears (which is why I think certain people brothers!
should not be married at 22 … just sayin’.) PARANORMAL STAKEOUT
Other people did not understand this. Do It For The Kids: During my husband’s last
with
Other people never really understand what it deployment Christmas, I wished Christmas
LARRY LAWSON
feels like to have your loved one deployed over would just not come that year. I wished we
the holidays. Our readers say that a Deployment could skip it. Instead, I had an eight-year-old Investigating and Research Ghosts,
Christmas happens to you alone -- even if you who gave me the countdown to Christmas every Hauntings, and things that go “BUMP” in
live in a town populated by other deploying single day. His sister wanted to bake a bunch of the night using Police Investigative
military families. No one can help you with this cookies. Their brother wanted to make out with
Techniques to Solve the Paranormal.
more than you can help yourself. So carry your his girlfriend in front of the Christmas tree.
To contact Larry Lawson - Email -
own Kleenex and keep moving forward. Creating holiday memories for our kids was the
larrylawson@xzbn.net
motivation I needed most. My husband eagerly
Drink Of The Milk of Human Kindness: read the emails with all our holiday details.And
During a holiday deployment, you will be our kids remember those Deployed Christmases www.XZBN.net
surrounded by opportunities to enjoy the just as happily. Totally worth it.
holidays with other people. School concerts,
holiday pageants, parties at work and volunteer Employ Whackadoo Holiday Traditions: One
opportunities will happen just like they do when of the things about being a military family at the
your servicemember is at home. Don’t avoid the holidays is that you often have to improvise.You
kindness of other people just because you are can’t go to the same holiday service at your
alone. Decide you will attend everything you childhood church because you live 1,200 miles
are invited to for at least one hour. Then you can away from your childhood church.You can’t go
go home if you want and drink of the milk to the same light show or concert you saw last
called Egg Nog and Skype your darling. year because you don’t live anywhere near
where you lived last year.
Cool It On The Care Packages: Depending on One important thing grown military
where your servicemember is stationed, they brats say that made the difference was all the
may not have space for a lot of stuff you send in silly little holiday traditions their parents carried
KNOW THE NAME,
a care package. Now is the time to talk about from house to house.At our house, we wear
KNOW THE GENIUS IN YOU
what your servicemember wants most -- which these silky robes my sailor brought home from
with SHARON LYNN WYETH
will be YOU. And a bunch of other stuff that Okinawa one year.Our managing editor’s
cannot go in a care package. Hear that and know family looks for a local greasy spoon for From the creator of NEIMOLOGY,
that this means you are not required to send pancakes on Christmas Eve wherever they are Sharon Lynn Wyeth interviews and discovers
them something that will make them so happy stationed.One of our bloggers relies on new the genius in the name of her guests and will
that they will not notice they are deployed on pajamas and yet another showing of the tell listeners how they can find out what their
Dec. 25. That isn’t possible. Instead, take some Griswolds to make it through the day.Repeat. names tells them about their inner genius. To
of the pressure off and send the little things that Repeat. Repeat until a tradition is made. contact Sharon Lynn Wyeth - Email -
say you care. knowthename@xzbn.net
(Continued on Page 36)
Gather Your Team: Ask yourself where you www.XZBN.net
will feel happiest on the big day -- at home? Merry Christmas From IPBN Radio.com