The past two days, as in years past, have been bittersweet. On Monday we packed our tidily taped boxes into a U-Haul truck, then Tuesday, we delivered them to the Ypsilanti Post Office where their journeys continue this very moment to places all around the world where our military protects and supports the USA and its allies.
  First the purely sweet: We met a big stretch goal by shipping over ONE TON ... 2100 pounds and our tale of the tape was a record, too! The shipping receipt was 25 feet long ... the printing of which is always good drama at the end of a long day at the USPS. Overall, we shipped 205 boxes (up 25 from 2016): 201 boxes today and four departed a little early last week. Our processes were improved, our stress levels lower as a result, and all-in-all, our initial results show great success! 
But why bittersweet? You have to understand how deeply involved we get in the stories of the men and women we "adopt". For most, we have their unit "bio" ... perhaps an idea of where they are, how they live, what conveniences they have, and what their wants and needs are. We start to know them by name... Darius, Santiago, Stephanie... or by our names for them. Iceman. The ladies from Kyrzwhatsitstan. The K9 corps. We know if they live on MREs, are too hot for chocolate, and have no access to a PX. We get so involved in their stories and pack their boxes with such care that when it's all over, we feel a little bereft. It's something we work on all year, but from late October until Thanksgiving, this is our life. Our sleep suffers and our partners fend for dinner on their own. We are in the zone. Or perhaps "in the box"?
And then suddenly, we're done. We look around wondering what to do next, then we remember. This is the reason we exist. To send those packages to the four corners of the world. Then spend some time with our families. Get some long-overdue rest. Then get back to work again, starting the march toward November 2018. We'll be working on tying up loose ends through the rest of the year and hope to hear back from some of our troops. We look forward to sharing more with you about our incredible year: memories, gratitude, results as we wrap up 2017 with happy hearts.
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