To some wives (ahem… new wives), this is a laughable notion. I’ve seen the mocking posts on Facebook full of scorn, making fun of the wives who start planning for homecoming within the first few months of their husbands’ deployment. Well, I am one of those wives who prepares early. Within the first month of my husband leaving, I’d ordered the first of his homecoming banners. In the next month or two, I’d bought several homecoming outfits to have on hand. And slowly, over the course of the deployment, I’ve been stocking up on everything I’m going to need. I’ve made my banners to hang on the fence by the base’s main gate, I’ve bought the decorations. Now, with the deployment wrapping up soon, I’m done. There is nothing I need to do or plan for anymore. When the day comes, I will have everything I need — and all I’ll need to do is spend the few days prior hanging everything up and deciding what I’m going to wear.



Well, imagine having to pack all of that into two weeks. That’s what a lot of wives do. They wait until the last minute, and then frantically try to get everything done, stressing the entire time, and nearly breaking the bank to boot. And by doing so, the actual homecoming becomes an object of stress and anxiety, rather than something to look forward to with excitement.

Word of advice: prepare in advance. First, by doing things gradually, a little at a time, throughout the deployment, you won’t be breaking the bank by spending hundreds of dollars on clothes, shoes, decorations, food, banners, etc., all in one paycheck. Second, if you do it all a little at a time, you’ll be saving yourself a ton of stress when the homecoming actually rolls around. You won’t have to worry about running all over town to find the perfect dress to wear, or trying to get the right number of little American flags to line your driveway with.

Make things a little easier for yourself, and get things done early. You’ll be thanking yourself for that little gem of brilliance in the end. Trust me.