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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: familyguidons@gmail.com
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
| Date Taken: | 02.10.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2026 14:57 |
| Category: | Recording |
| Audio ID: | 90581 |
| Filename: | 2602/DOD_111542556.mp3 |
| Length: | 00:36:10 |
| Location: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Family Guidons - Ep. 4, by SSG Chelsea Weaver, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
