Words waiting for them when they get back
During a deployment, news travels badly. Write now and pick the exact day the message arrives.
During a deployment, what's missed most isn't a powerful message, it's a bit of ordinary news from home. A capsül arrives by email on the chosen date and can still be read afterwards, which matters when access to personal email isn't guaranteed every day. Below, how to choose a date when the schedule keeps moving, and three messages from family.
Before they leave
Write the night before. Delivered mid-deployment, when it drags the most.
Homecoming day
A message waiting at home, dated for the day.
From the kids
What they write before departure, delivered during the mission.
One year on
A message for the anniversary of the return.
What do you write to someone on deployment?
Ordinary news, more than encouragement. The score from the little one's match. The neighbour who has finally cut his hedge.
These details ask for nothing back. They don't need a reassuring reply, and they show that home carries on, with their place kept for them.
Don't list your worries. They know them already. And there's nothing they can do about them from where they are.
What date works if the return could change?
The middle of the deployment rather than the day they come back. Return dates shift; the date of a capsül doesn't, once it's sealed. The middle of a deployment stays the middle give or take a few days, and it's often the longest stretch.
A deployment under 180 days fits within the free version. Aiming for the anniversary of their return, a year later, needs the first pack.
To find the right tone, this writing guide gives some simple pointers. And some opened capsules show what ordinary words turn into over time.
What do you tell them, then?
Life at home, with no staging. Three messages, one of them written by a child.
Lee, We're halfway. I know because I'm crossing off the days on the calendar from the Chinese takeaway, on the fridge, and there are as many blank squares left as crossed-out ones. Charlie lost his first tooth eating an apple. He put it under his pillow with a note for you. The tooth fairy is hanging on to it for now. The boiler's making that noise again. I rang Gaz. Don't worry, he just gave it a whack. We're waiting for you. Not counting. Well, a bit. Kerry
Daddy, I got 10 out of 10 in my spellings. Mum says you can't write back, so it doesn't matter.
Craig, It's been a year since you got back. You promised to ring Jonno at least once a month. Have you? If not, today.
Common questions
What should you write to someone serving on deployment?
Everyday news, without dramatising: what the kids are up to, what's changed on the street. Save the worries for a conversation, when they can answer. A message scheduled for mid-deployment arrives just when the days are most alike, and asks for no reply.
Will the message get through if they can't access their email?
The message waits in their inbox, and the link stays valid in the days that follow. If the capsül isn't opened, Capsül follows up with at most three reminders, spread over two weeks. So they can read it as soon as they're back online, without losing anything you wrote.
Can you time a message for the middle of a deployment?
Yes. Work out the date from the day they leave, then create your capsül on Capsül with that date and their personal address as the recipient. By default, an email lets them know when you send it, with the content hidden. You can untick that notification to keep it a surprise.
Can children write too?
Yes. A child who can't write yet can dictate, and a parent copies it down word for word, wobbly logic included. With a pack, you can add other addresses: the grandparents then receive it that same day, each through a separate link.