In My Own Words

Jack is over at Paul’s house chopping up a black walnut tree for firewood, and I’m here at home working on care packages.  I think it’s a wonderful way to start a brand new year; hopefully the recipients will think it’s not too shabby, too. LOL!

I’ve already got one box filled up, the customs form filled out, and ready to seal. It’s not a Flat Rate Box; the items I’m sending wouldn’t fit in one of those, but I don’t think it’ll cost much more to send using Parcel Post, SAM (Space Available Mail). Nothing in it will spoil or be any less useful if it takes a day or two longer to get there. Besides, when you send priority mail, it only goes priority to the point at which the Military Postal Service picks it up, and from there on, all bets are off. It’s all pretty much “SAM” from there until it reaches its destination.

My first box of the year is for Any Female Soldier, and includes a set of rose-print flannel sheets, a set of rose pink bath towels, some feminine hygiene supplies, toothbrush/toothpaste, smell-good lotion, shampoo/conditioner, and a “Tranquility Fountain” that doesn’t take up much space but will bring a little bit of relaxation to a stressful place. Of course, a note and a Guardian Angel card are the last two things I’ll put in the box before I wrap a pound and a half of tape around the outside…Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little. More like a pound and a quarter of tape… Hey, I don’t want stuff falling out of the package on the way over to Afghanistan, right?

The second box, which I have almost got ready to tape shut and address, is a hygiene box intended for male Soldiers. Chock full of toothbrushes/toothpaste, chapstick, lotion for extremely dry skin, razors & shaving gel, macho body wash, deodorant, wet wipes, anti-bacterial wipes, stuff like that. Since you can’t mix hygiene gear and food in the same box, all the hygiene supplies I have on hand are going into this one box, and then I start on the goodie boxes.

I don’t know how many goodie boxes I will wind up with; it’s always hard to tell, looking at what you’ve got on hand, just how many boxes it will take to hold it all. Inevitably I will overestimate how much will actually fit into a large FRB while I’m at Sam’s stocking up on “stuff” for our Warriors, and one care package will turn into three or four. That’s not exactly a BAD thing, except for when I find I don’t have enough postage money to send that many. Then it’s frustrating…Maddog, if you read this, I KNOW you understand what I’m talking about…LOL!! I’m pretty sure you, Pam, and Phillis have also been there, done that and got the T-shirt.

Since my most recent bread order brought $20 for the Troop Support Account, rather than the $8 I was counting on, that means at least one more package I can send than I originally thought. That’s always a plus, for me AND for whoever that “one more package” winds up going to. Of course, Monday is when the postage goes up on mailing packages, but even recalculating based on the rise in postage, I can still send 5 packages instead of 3. There just won’t be any money left in the account to speak of…until the next bread orders start coming in.

Okay, I’m gonna get back to work, sorting stuff out and packing boxes. I’ll type at y’all later. Thanks again for reading my ramblings; I appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog. Chime in any time, whether you read it here on my website, or in my notes on facebook, your input is always more than welcome.