Deployment of a family member in the military effects people and families in different ways. This stage is by far the hardest and most difficult. Deployments can vary from three months to a year. My dad was lucky and never got deployed for longer than six months but not everyone is that fortunate. Many Military spouses experience yearlong deployments. Extended Deployment can be difficult for Military families whose spouse is in the work force. This is an especially difficult time for spouses who work and have young children. My mother didn’t work so we as a family didn’t struggle with that aspect of deployment, but there were families that we knew who had a really hard time. When my dad got deployed my grandparents would come from the United States and stay with us for the first couple months to help my mom. It was very common to have relatives come and help while a spouse was deployed. It was hard for my family because, my dad was gone from August to January so he missed a lot of the holidays. When my dad was deployed the first time over thanksgiving we started a gratitude tree to help remind us what we were grateful for. Doing that helped my family cope with my dad being gone because; we could focus on things that we were grateful for. We continue that tradition to help us keep the spirit of gratitude in our hearts. The best part of deployment is when you get to see your soldier again after such a long time. It is such an emotional time when you see them step off the airplane in their military