The Chaotic Adventure of Moving On

Hey Y’all,

Things are about to get real Crazy over here.  Naturally I thought y’all would love to hop aboard the crazy train with me so here we go.

Our military family “dream” started over 13 years ago when my husband decided he wanted to join the Army.  One of the perks the recruiter showcased was the amazing life we’d have traveling all over the world. I’ve always had a wandering soul, and I bit, hook line and sinker.  I was ready to see the world. A year later the Army blessed us with our first chance to get a look at everything this great country has to offer, when they told us we were moving ourselves and our 2 dogs 13 hours across Texas to the great city of El Paso.  This was after they asked my husband our “top 3”, and we ignorantly believed they were invested in our hopes and dreams. We spent a lot of time coming up with three places we wanted to live. The army had jokes, and I didn’t think they were very funny.

Now here we are, 13 years later getting ready to embark on our 6th PCS (permanent change of station) move.  We have spent the last 4 years in Colorado. Our longest duty station to date. We are headed from here to upstate New York in the spring, with a few months of taking over my Mama’s house in East Texas in between.  This may only be our 6th PCS move, but it is actually our 16th time to pack up all of our stuff and move it somewhere new. That’s 16 moves in 16 years of marriage. Our marriage has somehow survived all of the moving.  Sometimes by the skin of our teeth. The longest we have lived in one house is while we were stationed in El Paso. We lived in our home there for 3 years. The math is exhausting, but I think you get the point. All that moving, you’d think we’d be pros by now, but we have NEVER moved with a toddler.  We are 4 weeks from “clearing” this duty station and starting our journey to upstate New York. 4 weeks, and the only thing I have done to prepare is manage to get an overwhelming pile of all the crap kids come with together in the garage. I’ve made several attempts to go through it all and every time it has ended with a puddle of overwhelmed tears on the floor of the garage. It’s time to “poop or get off the pot” and I’m painfully aware of how little time I have left to get my act together.  This may be the move that breaks me, and I hope y’all will join me and my family on our journey!

PRO TIPS:

• Whether you are moving a few streets over, or across the country, make sure you check the tops of your closets before you leave.  I have always almost left something behind and though my husband isn’t bothered by the thought of having one less thing in our lives, as a self proclaimed hoarder the idea makes me nauseous.

 

• Waiting until the very last second to prepare for your move is the best way to go.  By doing this, you will have several opportunities to practice conflict/resolution with your spouse.  Also, the relief you will feel when you load the last thing in your car is an indescribable feeling and makes exercising your rights as an eternal procrastinator worth all of the tears.

If you are questioning my procrastination skills, read about how we planned a trip home instead of packing boxes.

~Lizzy