Motion Sick
Birmingham, AL
Junction City, KS
Savannah, GA
Bayonne, NJ
Giessen, Germany
Woodbridge, VA
Atlanta, GA
Triangle, VA
N. Bethesda, MD
Kennewick, WA
Atlanta, GA
Silverdale and Bainbridge Island, WA
Manama, Bahrain
Rota, Spain
North Carolina
This is the list of every place I’ve called “home” since birth. When it’s all said and done, the above will probably rival one of those Biblical genealogy lists of who begat who. With the exception of Virginia and Atlanta, my family and I have usually lived in a city for 2-3 years max. It almost seems like I was born to travel, and I won’t contest that notion, I’ll second it. I normally answer the question, “where are you from?” with a shrug and a, “well, my dad was in the Army…” which serves as a little disclaimer for people who know anything about that life. And now that I’m an “Army brat, raising a Navy Baby,” the journey continues. Although more people will be intrigued with someone born in Spain versus Birmingham, Lavender will still have to navigate the shifts and transitions and Chris and I will still have to refine how we tackle the moving process.
For example, when we move, we have two types of shipment options: an express shipment and a household goods shipment. For all unfamiliar with the terms, the express shipment is self explanatory. This shipment consists of things that you may need sooner in your new location, so you determine what you need and the moving company packs it up and more often than not, those items beat you to your next location. Household goods are those things like furniture and heavier items or even the basic things that you don’t need immediately and can wait for. Depending on how far your locations are, this shipment usually arrives within a month, possibly two, of you arriving at your next station. For example, moving from Spain to Hawaii your items take longer to arrive versus a move from Bahrain to Spain, though so many variables determine the timelines, so there’s no solid formula.
This move drained me; it drained us. The last two weeks before we left Spain to come to the U.S. required a lot of close out work. We had to get those “Spanish kisses” (dings and scratches) off our car, check out of our house, we checked into a hotel and battled relentless ants and super tiny quarters, we had to mail boxes of things that we should have already included in our express shipment and ship our car. I definitely took a break from social media this past week to get adjusted to life and rest. That was the best thing I could have done and I’m glad we decided to come straight to my parent’s house and take time to recover and reset.
We’re not rookies at moving, but we still learned a lot this go round.
For starters, we didn’t pack light. This is a goal from henceforth and forever more. Instead of operating on “what if” and “just in case”, we need to put up and honor some packing parameters.
Even on a simple flight or family trip, I’m guilty of packing too many books or things that I don’t even open. And with a busy toddler, I rarely get to think about those things that I brought to “pass the time.” So, “pack lightttt...hooo hoooooo”.
Rest was a goal but we struggled to make it a reality. It’s just an uphill battle with jetlag, a nursing toddler, and living out of the suitcase. I don’t remember how my family did it with each move as we grew up. The fact that we moved in the summer months as a child might have helped with the transitions and balance. But, we’ll still aim to rest and continue to build in time after the move to “steal away” before we settle in to our next location.
Asking for and accepting help makes all the difference. Huge thanks to Ashley (who was going through her own PCS), Anjelica and Kay for helping with childcare, getting us to the airport and keeping me company. Kay even repainted our nursery wall and made us a meal (MVP!) while we were in the hotel.
Pay attention and take notes from the experts. I have to take this moment to recognize a family that deserves a golden star, platinum anchor and diamond encrusted eagle because they mastered the art of the move. Tyler and her family of five (including fur babies) moved from Spain the same time as us, but completed their pack out months (like 3) before we moved. So all of their belongings met them in the U.S. AND...this is the kicker...they only checked one bag on the flight!
Yoooooooooooooo (add 30 more ‘o’s)!!! So, while we’re all waiting in the terminal with the jumbo elephant carts to load up our luggage, this family of 5 is patiently waiting for one checked bag while sporting their individual bookbags. And the youngest child is only 3 months older than Lavender, so he has the same car seat as her. But, what I didn’t know, is that those big Graco 4-in-1 car seats can fit in the seats on the plane. So li’l man was snug as a bug in a rug in his carseat during the flight. Afterwards, his mom had a little buggy with wheels that she used to pull him through the aisle as we deplaned. #goals They didn’t have a lot of bags, weren’t lugging things around, didn’t appear overwhelmed with trying to find space in the overhead compartments on the plane or struggle to deplane because they had to grab a baby and too many bags. If there were awards for #PCSBossmoves, their family would take home every category.
I’m hoping that Chris and I will get on that level, especially if we live overseas again. But even if life doesn’t take us across continents and time zones, I know that we have to, and will, master the art of packing light and taking only what we need.