Military Life and Child's Play

(Katie's husband, Allan, receiving a care package while deployed)

When I started at Child’s Play in early September 2014, I had been
seeing a man who was a Sailor in the United States Navy for about a
month. Just more than 10 years later, we are married, have moved six (or
possibly seven) times, are parents to a beautiful little girl and I am still
working at Child’s Play.

Military spouses have an unemployment rate of around 20 percent,
approximately five times higher than the current national number. But I
have never had to worry. Every single time my husband has deployed
and I find myself back in the D.C. area, I have always had a job waiting
for me. Whenever my husband’s military career brings us back this way,
I know I’ll have a place to work.

During my husband’s 2018 – 2019 deployment to Iraq, I was determined
to send the world’s best care packages. All I had to do was buy a few
things at work and mail them off.

When we lived in Japan when my husband was stationed in Okinawa, I
sent the employees at our Chevy Chase location care packages with fun
Japanese snacks and candies. And when my daughter was born in early
2021, the employees got together a care package for her and mailed it off
us.

My husband retired from the Navy in early 2023 after nearly 22 years of
military service and we have settled back in the D.C. area. He has a
civilian job on a local military base and I am back working at Child’s
Play. All in all, a smooth transition for us both.

This November in honor of National Veterans and Military Families
Month, Child’s Play is delighted to extend a 10 percent discount to
active-duty service members, military veterans and first responders from
Nov. 8 – Nov. 11 (with some restrictions). ID is required at the time of
purchase.

While my husband was deployed in 2018 – 2019, I sent him about 10
care packages. In addition to a lot of candy and snacks to share with his
fellow sailors, here are a few of the (many) things I sent to help make his
time away from home a bit easier.

Globby $4

Mini Lantern $4.5

Guillotine $6.5

Astronaut Ice Cream $3.5

Marvel Pez Dispenser $1.6

Jolt Nerf Gun $3

Mad Libs $2.5