Do you guys have any ideas for staying in touch with the kids/family while deployed? Some good ones I've heard are:

Record some tapes of you reading the kids' favorites stories.

Make sure you have a picture of you with each kid, individually, for them to keep.

Have them partially color a picture and send it to you, then you can color in some more and send it back.

Any others?

SD

I like the third one! That would surely make a priceless keepsake!

superdave,
You wouldn't believe what a short letter will mean sometimes! The pic's of people and places around home meant a lot to me. Got a few cassette tape letters, but had problems sometimes trying to find something to play them on, it depends on what your job is and where you're at, inregards to the field or rear area. The local newspaper would be a biggie also.

One of the guys with whom I served was recognized by his little girl when he got back, and boy was he tickled. It seems his wife made it part of the night-night ritual that they would kiss a picture of him, and while doing so the wife rubbed his daughter's hand on some sandpaper. When he got back, his little girl wasn't too sure who this big, smelly thing was until she rubbed his face.
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