It occurred to me that some of you reading my last post might be new readers and not know about our marble jars I mentioned we used during deployment.
This is the main way I used with our son to count down Cliff’s first deployment and we will most likely use them again when the next one comes around. I had heard someone suggest letting the kids eat a piece of candy each day and that just seemed to scream “here come the cavities” to me, so I decided to use marbles.
Here’s how to make your own marble jars:
Buy two glass jars with screw-on lids. The lids will come in handy if you have little ones who might be tempted to put a marble in their mouths.
Buy enough marbles for one per day you think your spouse will be gone and then throw in at least 30 to 60 more for good measure – nothing wrong with a few extra marbles left over, but it will be really terrible if all of the marbles are gone and Daddy or Mommy still isn’t back!
Mark one jar with a frowny face and one jar with a smiley face or other symbols or words that will keep the two jars straight – one that has the marbles representing the days your service member will be gone, one represents the days until your service member comes home (this one will be empty when you start). You’ll want to make sure you know which one is which so you don’t get confused when the marbles become half and half (a very exciting moment! 
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Put all your marbles in the first jar. As each day passes, add one marble from the full jar to the empty jar. This is a great visual way for kids (and adults) to see the deployment time pass. It’s especially exciting once you realize that the second jar has more marbles than the first! A definite sign that the deployment is almost over!
You can take pics of your marble jars and email/mail them to your spouse so he/she can see the time pass as well. And even if you don’t have kids, this is still a great way to count down other than just using a calendar.
If you liked this idea and use it for your own deployment, let me know! Anytime I can help another spouse not lose all her marbles, I feel good! LOL (sorry – couldn’t resist throwing in a marbles joke!)
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I’m not big on eating a piece of candy every day either! I had also heard about making a paper chain out of colorful strips. Each day a link comes off and the deployed parent is that much closer to coming home to you!
Sara,
I have “lurked” around your blog for quite some time now, and I always find it full of info/encouragement. I just have to say, though…this is the BEST idea I’ve seen!! We tried a big calendar on poster board, but my son is too young for that to be super-concrete to him. We just might try this…so thanks!!
~Meg (in the midst of our 1st deployment)