Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I am a Disgrace to Military Wives Everywhere

When Blaine and I got married twenty years ago, and I started preparing for our first move eight months after the wedding, I was a little freaked. Actually, I wasn’t so much freaked, as I was boggled by the concept of moving. I grew up in the same house my entire life … which was less than two miles from my grandparent’s house, where my mom lived her entire life … which was only two blocks from my great-grandparent’s house --- you get the picture. The furthest I had ever gone away was my freshman year of college, when I lived in the dorms of the college that was about fifteen miles from my parent’s house. And I came home every weekend so I could drink with my friends spend time with the family I missed so very much. Growing up, I had never even moved from one house to another, let alone moved clear across the country, to a strange city, where I knew no-one, nor where anything was. Obviously, “adventure” was not in my bloodstream.

Back then, I remember talking to a girl I worked with who was a few years older than me. She had been a military brat growing up, but was now settled in one place, married, with kids of her own. She told me how much she missed moving around, and that after a few years in one place she started getting antsy to try someplace new. I remember thinking that was the most bizarre thing I’d ever heard ---- who in their right mind would WANT to move all the time?

Then, the day came for us to go, and although I wasn’t technically kicking and screaming when I left that final morning in OKC, I was certainly a reluctant participant as we drove out of the Denny’s parking lot and left my family, waving behind us. I can’t remember exactly, but I think there might have been a discreet dabbing of tears. And an even more discreet mumbling under my breath of “This better be worth it, you military bastard, or I will be on the first plane home before you can blink” shot in Blaine’s direction. Just maybe.

It took us three days to drive to California, partly because we didn’t want to kill ourselves trying to get there in two, so we stopped early every night and had a nice dinner, and partly because I made Blaine wait on me every morning so I could shower, fix my hair, and put on a full face of make-up which just makes me laugh because hello? We were driving half-way cross-country and saw no-one but gas station attendants and hotel clerks who I’m pretty sure didn’t give two hoots if I had on mascara or not.

But at last we arrived in California and yep, it was a bit of culture shock for this born-and-raised-in-one-place gal.

That assignment was for training for Blaine, at Vandenberg AFB, and was only four months long. So we knew we would need to rent a furnished apartment, and that I would be spending most of my time there alone while Blaine was off doing whatever it is they do to prepare young men and women to be nuclear missile launch officers. Personally, I didn’t see why it would take four months ----- push a button and end the world, or don’t push the button. See? How hard could it be? (Ha! That shows just how stupid I really was because did you know? They don't even HAVE big red buttons down in those missile silos. Did you know that? It's all done with a KEY, not a button. A KEY that Blaine actually got to turn one time. But that's a story for another day. For now, I'm still babbling about what a baby I was the first time we moved. Read on.)

But nonetheless, we went looking for furnished apartments with the list of available and Air Force-approved places the base housing office gave us. Naturally, we started at the cheap end of the list because we only had “x” amount of money to spend each month on housing and hey, it’s just four months, how bad could it be?

Wow, pretty bad, actually.

Most of the apartment complexes were run down, shabby, and not too inviting. I’m not a snob, by any means, but when we came to one that had several big, fat, Mexican women, sitting in the doorsteps, smoking cigars and giving us the hairy eyeball (no offense to any large, cigar-smoking Mexican women who might be reading this blog) I turned to Blaine and said, “You are planning to leave me alone here every day for four months in this apartment, and if you think I’m staying **here** by myself, you are on crack …… let’s just jump to the other end of the spectrum right now” and I demanded we wound up selecting THE most expensive apartment complex on the list. Which again, now I’m laughing, because at the time it was $550 a month, for a one-bedroom, one bath, furnished apartment, and it didn’t even have a television. Back then, twenty years ago, to us especially, that was an astronomical price, and I remember thinking I would NEVER in my life spend so much money to live anyplace again. Yes, we started with no TV, back in the day before home computers and the Internet. I was bored out of my mind. We wound up buying a 13 inch tv to put in the living room, and I learned to crochet. I had no friends, no cable, and made about 170 blankets while we lived there.

Anyway, I’ve gotten way off on a tangent here. The point was that I wasn’t crazy about the idea of moving in the first place, but after four months there, I was ready to move again. Temporary assignments have always been a little harder for me, because you’re not really there long enough to make friends or get comfortable. Just about the time you learn your way around, and find a new dentist, and a hairdresser you actually trust, it’s time to move again. I was eager to get to our next assignment, where we would be for four years, so we could settle in and make more of a home for ourselves.

And so we moved to Minot, North Dakota, the assignment where anyone who has never been there looks at you with a slightly horrified, slightly nauseous look on their face when you tell them you lived four years (and hence through four WINTERS) in Minot, North Dakota ….. but where the vast majority of people who have actually LIVED there, us included, will tell you in reality, it’s a really nice place. Sure, a little brisk in the winter, but a great place to live, especially if you’re like Blaine and like to hunt and fish --- or, as Blaine put it, North Dakota is GOD’S COUNTRY.

We made great friends; thanks to a departing squadron of fighter pilots we secured wonderful base housing above our rank; I worked for a year, then I went back to college; Blaine loved his job, and finished his masters degree --- all in all, a fantastic four years for us. (Well, except for those last few months when we had started trying to have a baby and we were all “WTH? We’ve been trying for three months now and I’m not pregnant, what is up with that????” Little did we know what lay ahead ….)

But I had to admit, after the four years there, I felt ready to move on. I felt a little “been there, done that, time to try something new” and that was the first time I felt like an authentic military wife. One who actually gets excited to move, and try new places and see new things.

We moved to Kansas for ten months (more training).

We moved back to OKC for three years, which was great for us because our family was right there. And leaving the second time was no-where near as hard because we had done it once and I knew I would survive the separation.

Then we went back to California for two years, a little more south than the first time, and I was WAY more than ready to move at the end because my GOSH, I am the only person on earth who didn’t like living in sunny Los Angeles, but ugh how I hated that place.

Then Ohio for three years, where we made some of the dearest friends we’d ever made. By now, we were in a completely different place as far as our lifestyle went. We had three kids, and loved what Ohio had to offer families. Leaving there after three years was the hardest move we had done, from an emotional standpoint. But we did it, because that’s what military families DO, and of course we survived it.

Then Alabama for ten months, which again, was a temporary assignment, and not long enough to enjoy what Alabama had to offer.

And then, Georgia, and now, preparing to move back to Oklahoma. So that’s nine moves in nineteen years, not counting the two additional moves we did (once in LA, once in Ohio) when we qualified for bigger base housing due to another baby each time.

And I can say, proudly, that I got the hang of this moving gig and actually started to enjoy it. Exploring new towns, making new friends, broadening my horizons --- all that crap. I liked it. And although I NEVER thought the words would come out of my mouth, I even started to feel antsy when we were in one place for very long.

But as you know, we got stuck here in Georgia for a long time --- five and a half years, the longest assignment we’ve ever had anyplace. I shouldn’t stay “stuck”, really, because that implies we haven’t liked it here, when just the opposite is true. We’ve liked Georgia very much --- we like our house, we like our neighborhood, we love our kids’ school. It’s a safe community, and my kids are active in local sports. It’s a nice town, with enough shopping and restaurants that it doesn’t feel “small town” but not too big, either. We’ve made lots of friends, although many of them have been military and have moved on, but local friends, too. And the state as a whole has lots to offer, which we’ve been lucky enough to see and do.

We *requested* to stay here, so Kendrie and Blaine could both finish their cancer treatments at their respective clinics, and the Air Force honored that request. Blaine had orders overseas that he turned down at the time of Kendrie’s diagnosis, and without our request to stay put, we’d probably have moved at least twice by now.

But we stayed here, by choice, and it was the absolute, best, without a doubt, smartest move for our family. And we like it here (have I mentioned we like it here?) so we didn’t mind.

And now here we are, poised after five and a half years to finally GO HOME, which has been our goal since Day One --- finish out Blaine’s military career with a final assignment back home, and then retire. Full circle, if you will. We’ve planned it, we’ve dreamed it, we’ve worked for it, we got lucky (sometimes luck has a large part to play in all this) and it’s happening.

So why then, after dreaming all these years that this would happen for us, after not only getting the hang of moving so often, but starting to truly enjoy these moves, and after being in one place for so long, and with our home town just sitting there, waiting for our arrival --- WHY do I feel such angst about leaving??? This is where the disgrace part comes in … what kind of military wife am I?

I can’t wait to go home -- I don’t want to leave.

I can’t wait for my kids to go to my old school -- I don’t want to take them away from the school they love here.

They will be with their cousins and will make new friends -- I feel guilty because they will miss their friends here.

Everything, EVERYTHING fell into place for our move. We found a house we love, in the school district we wanted (no small feat, which you already know if you were reading my blog last summer.) And after being told that there were no jobs available at Tinker, one literally falls in Blaine’s lap. In his career field. That he’s excited about. Not only does the job fall in his lap, but they want him to report six months earlier than we planned, which means our family doesn’t have to be apart during that time. Call it what you will; fate, destiny, providence -- God’s hand was all over this.

But I can’t help feeling this sadness about leaving Georgia. Sadness and worry and anxiety about a move that SHOULD be old hat by now. The kids will be fine -- they are smart and funny and genuinely nice kids and THEY WILL MAKE NEW FRIENDS. Every military kid on the planet faces this at some point in time, many of them face this numerous times. For us, though, this is our FIRST time for them to move after starting school and I feel such guilt about taking them from the place they are comfortable and happy and secure. Also, the security of knowing one of the best children’s cancer clinics in the country is only two hours away; I pray every night we never need it again, but I can’t believe its right here and we’re LEAVING it.

And then I’m all, “Oh, suck it up you moron, the kids will be fine and you’re certainly not the first or only person to do this and why are you having such a hard time with it???” and then I’m all, “Oh, my precious babies, I just want them to be happy and safe” and then I’m all, “Well, it’s reasonable to feel conflicted about leaving when you’ve been somewhere for over five years, cut yourself some slack. You’ve put down roots as a family, but you’ll do fine and put down new roots, just pull yourself up by your bootstraps for now“ and then I’m all, “But what if my kids hate it and wind up needing years of therapy because we’re ripping them from the bosom of security they’ve had for so long” and then I’m all, “OMG, woman, You are making me sick with your whining about this, would you just shut up about it already.”

See what I mean?

I am a DISGRACE.

I am a military wife. I’m supposed to be confident and capable and self-assured, poised to move my family into the future that is best for them, and to do so with proficiency and competence and mad-skills moving talents. I am NOT supposed to be a dithering nitwit who talks to herself and stress-eats chocolate by the boatload.

So don’t be surprised, when the packers show up in a few hours (I *think* we are ready … we’ll see how this goes) if there’s a bit of melancholy in the air. Also don’t be surprised if after discreetly dabbing a tear or two twenty years ago when I left my family for the first time, if I don’t discreetly dab a few more when we finally head back home on Sunday.

Because I am a disgrace.

And maybe a little bit insane.

PS. We are keeping the computer and taking that ourselves, because I told Blaine I couldn't bear to be offline more than a few days. And at that, I'll still probably try to squeeze in a trip to the local library to check my e-mail one last time after we pack up. And then curse the fact we are too cheap to buy a laptop. And the packers are not allowed to unplug the TV today because I need to see who gets voted off DWTS tonight. And they're not allowed to unhook the washer and dryer because I want to pack as many clean clothes as possible, right up until the last second. Obviously, my movers will think I'm insane as well.

32 comments:

cakeburnette said...

How appropriate that I get to leave the 1st comment for this entry. No, you are NOT a disgrace at all! I know exactly how you feel, because it's very much how I felt when we moved back to GA. No matter what your personal feelings are, and how much you KNOW you kids will be just fine, moving is much more difficult once they start school and sports/activities. And as far as being sad to leave WR? This is an amazing place to live and you are so not the first person to fall in love with the town. I cried for 6 weeks when we left and I do NOT intend to leave again! :) But home is home, and it's where your hearts lie, so we wish you Godspeed and good movers and hope that we'll be able to keep in touch always!

Anonymous said...

Ah Kristie,

You are not a disgrace. You are just a very typical military wife.
Trust me, I have felt every single one of your thoughts as we haved moved from McChord to our "dream" assignment in Germany. After 17 years of going where the AF sends us, we finally basically get to pick this last assignment so we followed our best laid dreams, plans, etc...And I am left to sit here after being in Germany for two months going WTH were we thinking?!?!?! This is a foreign country fergawdsakes! We could have just stayed in WA and finished out with B taking a few deployments, not upset the kids, blah, blah, blah.
So, I feel your pain.
It is also scary to "go home again" because you never can really just "go home". Everything will be different. And this isn't really home to your kids. So, I think your angst is well founded, deserved, and expected.
In the end, you will all be fine. We all know that. But allow the tears. Allow the melancholy. And even allow the temper tantrums that are sure to come. It is just all part of the process. And that process makes us who we are.
Members of a community of people that will go to the ends of the Earth for our nation's freedom, no matter how challenging, so that at the end, we can all "go home".

Godspeed and best wishes for your move.
~Carolyn
Ramstein AB, Germany

Anonymous said...

Your post today tells us that you are something beyond being just a military wife, you are human. Moving is exciting, lots of work, full of sadness. From someone who has moved 6 times in my twenty years of married life and we are not a military family. Best of luck.

Anonymous said...

I feel your angst. Every military wife feels the way you do. You don't become immune to getting attached no matter where you land!!!

Anonymous said...

We'll miss you while you move. Please blog as soon as you arrive in OKC and have new adventures! I just read an article today in the Houston paper about OKC. Thought about you!
Claire in TX

Anonymous said...

I was VERY briefly a military wife back in the 80's...my 1st husband was in the Army and I left home for the first time at 19 to go to Germany with him. I live in Florida, and had never seen snow before. I flew over in December. I literally got off the plane in Germany in a windbreaker and sandals, because it was 80 degrees when I left Orlando, and I was looking at snow on the ground for the first time! Before I left to go over there, I was going to school full time and working two jobs, and then suddenly here I was in a foreign country where I knew no one except my husband, bored out of my skull sitting in a tiny efficiency apartment all day alone. This was before internet, and though we had a TV it was all in German! We didn't live on post, but out on the economy as they called it. I was SO homesick I thought I'd go nuts! From the moment I arrived there, I counted the days when I could go home. Then, a year later when I left...I cried because I had to leave! I could NOT lead a military life, that's for sure. I don't like change, and am way too emotional for that stuff! I don't see how people do it.

Anonymous said...

Hey, our move to CO over Thanksgiving was easier for our daughter than here over this past summer. She walked into a classroom full of potential playmates. Coming here in the summer, she only knew our realtor's daughter and they had fun but kids don't play outside like they used to. And she truly tried, walking the dog, running and biking at various times of the day. My thought is you are probably doing your kids a favor in the long run.

Hugs,

Jenny said...

Oh how us GA gals will miss having you here. I know that's crazy b/c it's not like we see each other all that often... but we know we CAN see you easily when you're here. I moved several times growing up, sometimes during the year, sometimes during the summer and honestly... the time of year wasn't what made it harder or easier. It was where we were moving from or too. And... it was really hard after middle school age. Here's wishing the very best for all 5 of you... Stay in touch with all us clinic moms b/c goodness knows we love you! Hope to see you at the next YaYa trip!!

Much love and best wishes,
Jenny W.

Anonymous said...

We will miss seeing you guys around the corner! Really, you all have had some wonderful times here and some horrible times here. I am so glad we are friends and I was there for both. Being the crap magnet that you are,:), it is incredible that things are going so FABULOUSLY for you right now! As much as my family will miss yours, I am so happy that finally you all are receiving what you so deserve. The kids will be fine.

PS- You won't be the only one dabbing tears this weekend.

Anonymous said...

The above message is from me! I was all teary and forgot to sign my name.

Anonymous said...

I read this with tears in my eyes, and my head nodding up and down through the whole thing! My husband retired from the Navy in April, after 21 years of active duty service. I think I have experienced every emotion you wrote about at sometime in the past 21 years. You will make it! The memories you have of Georgia (and all the places you've lived) will be something wonderful to draw upon as years past. Enjoy the end of one journey and the start of another!
Sharon

The Traveling Yogi said...

I don't think you are a disgrace, but I can somewhat understand the mixed emotions over the move. We moved when I was in the second grade and at the time, I was so upset. The city we moved to is where my parents still are and where we also live. My daughter has moved houses twice and my son once, but that was before they started school. Because I am such a "routine" person, I can't imagine moving now. I don't know how you military folks do it, but you have my admiration. It will be hard to leave your friends, but I think once you are home you will know that you are where you are meant to be. Best of luck with the move and safe travels.
Briana

Anonymous said...

Kristi, your not insane, you've been there, and you love your kids! Have a safe trip, we'll miss you, so get that computer hooked up as soon as you can! Hugs from Texas! Tammy in Fort Worth

Amy said...

Good luck with the big move. I'm excited and nervous at the same time for you. It's hard to move away from your life and start over again. But this time you'll be "home".

Anonymous said...

Good Lord, girl - I've moved more times than I can count in the last 3 decades since leaving home (I left home at 11!!), and not once, NOT ONCE, mind you, has anyone PACKED FOR ME!!! If I were you, I'd be doing cartwheels on just that one fact, alone! The kids will be fine - they really will. They are still very young and hence, adjust very easily. Love the part about Blaine and the silos - I don't know if you ever mentioned that before. In my work for Boeing, I spent a couple of years on the Peacekeeper program and got to climb down the "mock" Peacekeeper silo that Boeing built here in Seattle - in a dress and high-heels, no less. I never worked MinuteMan, tho I know lots of people who did. Would love to hear the turning the key story sometime!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I know exactly how you feel. The radio industry is often compared to the military because you move so often. I've lived in three states in 10 years. Georgia, Oregon, and Texas. I left Atlanta for Oregon in 1997 and fell in love with Oregon. I mean head over heels in love. It's a fantastic place to live. Love the people, the place, the lifestyle. It fit me so much better than Georgia ever did though I certain miss my family back in Georgia. But Oregon is home for me.

In 2002, I got my dream job working for a huge country station in Dallas/Ft. Worth. THE country station in America at that time. I had to take the job so as much as I hated leaving Oregon, I packed up and moved to Texas.

To say I hated Texas that first year would be an understatement. I hated everything about it except my job which was as fabulous as I thought it would be. But I was convinced Dallas was the worst place to live on earth. Having moved to The Big D from a ski town didn't help either.

After a year on the couch pouting and twenty pounds of weight gain, I finally got my act together and started making friends. I have never loved the people more anyplace I lived than I did in Dallas. Some of my best friends still live in Texas though being Texans some have relocated to Colorado, but I still do not understand why anyone lives in Texas voluntarily. Oklahoma is a much better place, and that's just one other option! ;)

The Texas summers were just too much for me and my company sold to owners I couldn't stand so in August 2006 I moved back to Oregon.

I should have been delighted. It was what I had dreamed about. I loved the people of Texas, but I still hated living there with just about every piece of my being, but the thought of moving and leaving my friends behind made me so sad.

I wanted so desperately to go home and so very much to stay. It made no sense. I actually cried when I left Dallas. I had always envisioned myself setting off fireworks in celebration. Nope.

But coming home has been wonderful, and I don't regret that decision at all.

Funny aside: When I first came back to town, I was at my brokers office when a man came in. I thought to myself, "Who IS that? I remember being in a room with him at some point and it was about something important." As I drove out of the parking lot a few minutes later, it finally came to me. The mystery man was the ONCOLOGIST who consulted on my melanoma.

Unknown said...

You can't leave -- you just can't! I'm still in denial. Totally in denial. You have to be sure to get back online as quickly as possible...I was hoping we would get to scrap together one more time before you left but, considering the fact that I can't even get to my scrapbooking table right now, and yours is probably packed up by now, that's not going to happen! HOGS will miss you -- and so will I.

Anonymous said...

Thinking of all of you as you make the transition! :)

Trish
Leesburg, VA

Anonymous said...

Thinking of all of you as you make the transition! :)

Trish
Leesburg, VA

Anonymous said...

My parents aren't in the military, but we moved a lot when I was a kid -- moves when I was 3, 7, 9, 11, and 15, and then I went off to college on the other side of the country at 18, moved again when I graduated at 22, and again at 24, and again at 27...and that doesn't count the changing dorms or apartments EVERY consecutive year between ages 18 and 26.

But "I've packed as many times as you" isn't my point. My point is that I thrived on every one of those moves, even the ones that I fussed about. I don't remember much about moving when I was 3. (Actually, I do, but mostly I remember the toy vacumn cleaner my mom bought me as a bribe). I was excited to move at 7, somewhat nervous about it at 9, and put up huge, huge fusses at 11 and 15. But every time, I settled in, made friends, and did well. The move at 15 -- the one I thought my parents had dreamed up to destroy my life -- was the best of all of them, and gave me some of my best friends in the whole world.

I always had an easier time when we moved during the school year, because I met other kids quickly. It's more traumatic not to have friends than to deal with changing schools and catching up on missed work. Starting in the middle of the school year means instant friends, a chance to reinvent yourself, and a new routine that starts immediately. It was always my favorite sort of move.

And the reason I mentioned all of those post-high school moves was to illustrate that once again, my daddy was right -- the moving around as a little kid made me flexible and adventerous and willing to take the opportunities that came my way as an adult. Friends confined their post graduation job searches to within 50 miles of campus, but I didn't blink twice at moving across the country! I don't quite know what to say when people ask where I am from, but I love the sense of opportunity that I feel because I know I can start again anywhere, and do well.

The stability of a loving family combine with the adventure and sense of purpose of moving where the opportunity takes us were some of the best gifts my parents gave me, and from your blog, you're clearly giving your kids the same great gifts.

Anonymous said...

We all get 'ya, girl. Even though our move to CO was voluntary and we love, love, love it here, I STILL wonder WTH we did. Yes, we're near my sisters, nieces and nephews, BUT leaving all that I had known for my ENTIRE life in Ohio was hard--my cousins, my grandparents, my MOM, their friends. . .it was hard. But today I ate lunch with Declan at school and saw how well he seems to be doing. And I saw how excited he got when he talked about skiing this winter. And how much Finn loves his little school and has so many little friends. And I realized that yes, change is hard and they do adjust--better than I do. So we're thinking of you and hoping that now that you're closer you'll come visit soon! And yay that you'll have your computer with you in transit!

Leece said...

What a beautiful entry. One day the children will love to read it, by the way which side of the 'excited - upset' see saw are they sitting on? Life is all about change and I guess for the little ones this is their first huge, collective, change. Can't wait to hear how it all goes. God Speed, lots of prayers for the trip and for a happy future.

Leeann said...

Aw Kristie,

I can totally get that you would feel that way. I would too. When we have moved, I have always told my kids how lucky they are. They get to keep the friends they've made AND add new ones, and so they get twice as much!

That having been said, last time we took our son from his friends, I was sad off and on for about a year. When he missed them, it would just break my heart. But sure enough, he made new friends and kept the old ones and all is well.

Safe travels and glad to hear you will still be checking in online!

Leeann

Anonymous said...

Kristie,
What a sweet entry!! Georgia is home to us and we are transplanted in Texas. We will be packing and making our move home at the end of the school year. I am already feeling nostalgic after reading your entry today. I said this earlier, but again...Welcome back to the midwest, the water's fine!! You guys are going to be great! Keep us updated and no more sad ones for a day or two...okay??

Ginny said...

If you're a disgrace then I am, too! I was a crying mess when I left CA to move here to Mtn. Home AFB, Idaho, with my then new husband. I thought I would never survive and I would simply hate it here. Ten years later and we want to retire in the Boise area! Yep, we have been here for ten years. I would be DEVASTATED if we got orders. The thought brings me to tears. Literally. My husband had two stateside bases and two tours in Korea before we got married.

Once you have been someplace long enough so that it really feels like home, and your kids have friends and routines there, it's only natural to be sad about leaving. Georgia has become your home.

Anonymous said...

Wondering why, exactly, the "big, fat, Mexican women smoking cigars" was an indication of how bad the apartment was. Was it that they were Mexican? Fat? Enjoyed a cigar? Would you have felt better if it had been skinny, white women sitting outside?

Anonymous said...

Moving always involves mixed emotions ~ I know how you feel! Good luck with everything, it worked out for you before and it will work out for you (and your family) again. I live a couple hours North of Vandenberg; too funny ~ what a small, small world!

Anonymous said...

I empathize with you greatly. Georgia was good to you in times of trouble and saw you through your daughter's cancer. Now you have to let go of the life ring and swim.

I wish you all the best in OKC and I look forward to reading about your new adventures.

Much love and blessings to all.

Anonymous said...

Kristie - All of your emotions sounded so familiar to me. That was me 2 years ago. All of the same emotions.....It was our first move where the kids were old enough to miss so much of what they grew accustomed to. That made it so much harder in my mind...but the thing is that they are so much more adaptable than we give them credit for. After just a few months, and meeting a few friends they were on track. It was relief. I am glad you are going to familiar teritory at least. That will help the adjustment happen a lot faster. I miss Georgia still. We had 8 years there, and after 15 years of being a military wife, it feels more like home to me than Miami anymore. So, we are all with you..military wives/moms everywhere can relate! Get your "We've moved - here's our new address" mailouts ready! Welcome home!! One day we will do a Robins reunion. Can we!? :)
Love Erin

Anonymous said...

Best wishes Kristie for a safe, happy move.

Sandy G. from West Hartford, CT

Anonymous said...

I was a military brat and we moved ALOT.It seems like every 18 months we were packing up. I absolutley hated it. I was shy and never adjusted. I don't have fond memories of childhood due to this.
My husband was a military brat and loved all the moving. It didn't phase him a bit.
I was always so envious of kids who lived in one place all their life and had the same friends throughout school.
It is a goal of mine to raise my kids in one place so they can experience what I didn't.
My twins are now in 5th grade and have gone to only one elementary school. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. My oldest daughter is in Middle school and my youngest in kindergarten. I am thrilled that they all have best friends that they have known since kindergarten.
My husband doesn't understand why I am so emotional about it but everyone is different.
I respect and admire military families though. Probably more since I lived it.Bless you.
Good luck with your move and have a safe trip!

Anonymous said...

If you've gotten the hang of the moving gig and (GAH) even "enjoy" it -- I think I could use some of whatever you're taking! Our 2nd PCS is coming up, I'm not actually going to be around for it (since we have a new tot, I get to fly across the country before the movers even come), and I'm STILL going nuts about the whole thing...

Good luck in the move!