Military Spouse Month…Part 1. The Art Of Moving

May is the month of the Military Spouse.
I was once, it seems ages ago, a Military Spouse.
The majority of my female friends are Military Spouses.

It’s that time of year that Orders are coming in and the moving begins for my friends, whether across the country or across the oceans.
You worry about what is going to be missing and/or broken on the other end.
You worry about the schools for your Children.
You worry about finding friends for Children AND your yourself.
You worry about little things
You worry about big things.

Note…I can only tell you what it was like for me. Every Military Spouse has their own stories…I wish they would share them with the world…the funny and the ones fraught with distress.

When I got married I moved from my parents house to my Ex’s Condo on the beach. We lived there a bit and then he got orders to GA. We headed up before our move date and found the perfect house. So we could save money our good friends offered up their base house as they were in Vegas for 6 months. The time came and we moved into our perfect little house in GA.

Note…thanks for the use of your house J and D…;)

3 1/2 years later Orders came for Langley. We lived in a rental a few miles away waiting for one of the fabulous Tudor houses on the base to come available. We didn’t need to worry about schools ‘cause we didn’t have children yet…and the schools in that area were/are crap…and he could walk to work. A house came open and we moved…
2 1/2 years later Orders came for Kadena. Across the pond we went with our one Child. We lived off the Base in a great concrete grey 2 story home amongst the Japanese…it was amazing. Then his job changed and he was required to move on base…so on to the base we went. I’m not complaining, just sharing the way it was.

Note…I only know one person that was able to defy that ‘order’…(I HAD to mention it as I swear it’s like you have some Jedi power over people.)
Note of the note…that was a shout out!

3 years later Orders came again, back to GA we would go, this time with all 3 of our Children in toe. We lived in town in a house we both still own together.
2 years later Orders came…off to CO. This time we rented.
Then we split and for the last two years I have been on my own…ever!

Ok…Did you do the math?
13+ years…TEN different residences! (My latest move of course was my own choice.)

Once in the move from GA to Langley….ALL my bowls went missing…?????
Once I told a mover to…
…”Please be careful with that lamp…”
Horrible mover lady…”I’ve been trained to do this and do it well.”
I walk out of the room and heard a crash…That bitch broke my lamp.
Once a mover put our baby grand piano on it’s side and his truck leaked…one ruined and warped baby grand piano.
Once a mover was so shocked with the amount of shoes I owned I could hear him counting loudly as he laughed…(Not all memories of moving are bad.)
Once the mover arrived with my antique dinning room table…with a gouge right in the middle of the top.
You get to the point you know things will get broken and go missing…it’s just stuff.

Movers suck. They don’t care about a damn thing but getting out of there. You will never see them again and they are bottom of the barrel…at least the ones here in the US I encountered.
They would piss and moan when I would tell them I needed help un packing…which they were paid to do. Hell, they just pissed and moaned the whole time and you have to appease them because they have complete control over ALL your belongings.

Note...The best movers were in Japan. They cared and took great care of all our things.

You have to keep your precious belongings locked in your car as so things don’t go ‘missing’.
Garbage bags are great to put towels and clothes in so you don’t have to re wash everything on your arrival.
Following around your movers with a Sharpie in hand is a must…because if you really believe that the box marked “downstairs bathroom” doesn’t have dishes in it?!…you’re probably wrong.

Knowing you won’t see the majority of your thing for several months puts things into perspective and you prioritize what you will REALLY need…and you cross your fingers and toes that there is not a storm and you ‘crates’ don’t go overboard…That happened to someone I know…everything lost at sea the only company…Osama Bin Laden and the fish.

I have friends that can have their house in order in ONE day after a move…It takes a good amount of team effort but it can be done. I think 3 days was my own personal record…curtains hung and all.
There is actually no secret “how to”…
You just do it! You u-pack the boxes and you put things away. You worry about organizing the little things later.

Where you hang your hat is your home.

…………………………………..

All my Military friends out there…good luck on your moves.
I hope all arrives safely, particularly you and yours…the stuff is just stuff.
Love,
Barbie

Ps
See ya soon in Vegas…maybe?