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6 Ways to Keep the Romance Alive During Deployment

June 3, 2015

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By Taylor Basilio Deployment is long, frustrating, and can oftentimes make it hard to connect to your loved one who is gone or at home. That being said, this time is most important when it comes to keeping the sparks flying and the romance of your relationship alive. If you have no ideas, I’m here to help! Below are six greats ways to keep the romance alive during deployment.  1. Arrange Skype/FaceTime calls—and make an effort. When you talk to your soldier on Skype or FaceTime, be sure to really make an effort to ask about their day, talk about fun things that will brighten both of your spirits, and—even though this sounds silly—write down talking points. When my husband was deployed, he rarely wanted to talk about his day because every day was exactly the same, and he was bored of it all. Because of this, I would write down things to talk about throughout the day—fun things I read or saw, anything weird/funny/different that happened, or updates on life—and talk to him about those things in the evenings. 2. Send love letters. This is old school, but it’s stuck around because it works. And it’s romantic. Even if this is outside of your comfort zone, give it a shot. Your soldier (and your at-home significant other) want to be reminded that they are loved and missed in a variety of different ways. Write it all down and surprise them with letters throughout the deployment. Another idea? Write little notes—things you love about them or reasons you’ll miss them—and hide them throughout the house or in different things your soldier is taking with them during deployment. When they find them, they’ll smile and be reminded of you. 3. Plan for the future—date nights, vacations, and more. One of the only good parts of deployment, for me, was planning all the fun things we would do when he got home. We planned dates, weekend trips, and vacations. We picked out where we would stay, figured out movies we would see (once we knew when he was coming home), and found great local restaurants on Yelp that we wanted to check out. This is an easy way to look forward to the future together instead of feeling down about the present situation. 4. Do a Hershey’s Kiss countdown. I had a friend who kept a jar full of Hershey’s Kisses and ate one every day for deployment. If you can keep the chocolate from melting, send a jar to your soldier, too. Eat one a day—a kiss for every day they are gone until they are home and in your arms again. 5. Watch a movie together. For my husband and me, one of our favorite things to do together is go to the movies. Obviously and unfortunately, this isn’t an option during deployment, so the next best idea is to watch one together virtually! Skype or FaceTime and watch a movie of your choosing “together.” You may not be side by side, but you can still start it at the same time and discuss it and react to it just like you would at home. 6. Make playlists. Maybe this is just my husband and me who love doing this, but make playlists for each other (or even send CDs) to listen to during the deployment. We have playlists with songs we’ve loved together throughout our relationship and songs that remind us of each other. A few of our favorites are below: o “How Lucky We Are” by Meiko o “The Story” by Brandi Carlisle o “Easy Silence” by the Dixie Chicks o “Chai Tea Latte” by Angel Taylor What do you do to keep the romance alive?

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