Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

PCSing

19 Memes that Explain What PCSing is Really Like

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19 Memes that Explain What PCSing is Really Like

19 Memes that Explain What PCSing is Really Like

Have you been through a PCS this year? PCS stands for “Permanent Change of Station” and happens when someone in the military has received orders for a new location. Pcsing is a process and one that can bring on a lot of stress.

There is always so much to do during a PCS. You have to prepare for the movers to come or start packing if you are going to do that part of the move yourself. You will have to get certain papers signed and filled out. Your service member will have to do certain things around your current duty station. You will have to find a new place to live, sometimes with getting to see what is there in person.

Then there is the emotional side to pcsing. Saying goodbye to your home, your friends and watching your children do the same. Pcsing can be difficult, for both you and your children. PCSing can also be a great thing, especially if you are excited about your new duty station.

Here are some memes that understand the experience…

pcsing

Sometimes it is hard to know what PCS really stands for. I think both of these could apply.

PCSING

You might not get a say with where you go next, but it can be fun to dream. If only the military could give us exactly what we wanted in a new duty station.

Pcsing

Military life means moving often. Although some military families buy houses, we did, not all feel like they should. They are waiting until after military life to find their forever home.

PCSing

Yes! You will have memories no matter where you go. You will treasure them. It doesn’t matter how many duty stations you end up at, you will always remember certain people and the fun you had at each location.

Pcsing

Yep! I have 3 kids and they were all born in different places. Life of a military family.

Hurry up and wait

PCSing means waiting on orders and other paperwork. Hurry up and wait. Get it all done and then have to wait longer than you think you should.

Military Children

Being in a military family means having to go to a lot of different schools. Sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes it isn’t.

pcsing

So many things on your PCS to-do list but saying goodbye to your friends is the hardest thing you will have to do.

Pcsing

If you are a military spouse for a longer period of time, you might have to pcsing with a toddler, or a teen. I am not sure what would be harder to do?

memes-92

I don’t like saying goodbye, I would rather say see you later…

PCSing

Seriously! Your PCS could be delayed because people went on vacation or had a sick day.

Pcsing

What have you been saving for a future home?

pcsing

Yes, we say we are not going to stress but then we do. Oh well!

Pcsing

The Army doesn’t have a lot of beach choices…sigh.

Military Life

I love that as a military spouse I have met so many people from all over the US and the World.

Pcsing

Yes, just remember that at the end of the PCS is a new home, new friends, and new memories to be made.

Military Life

The military will drive you nuts when you are waiting for something to happen. Whether it is a PCS or a deployment coming to an end.

Pcsing Overseas

Yep! You wait forever and then boom, things happen and they happen fast. The next thing you know you are on an airplane waving goodbye to your former home.

Pcsing

Home is where the military sends you. What does your list look like? This is ours 🙂

Moving When Your Spouse is Deployed? Here Are Some Hacks to Help You Out

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Moving While Your Spouse Is Deployed: Hacks To Make The Process Easier

So your spouse is deployed, and you are tasked with moving you and your family to your new PCS assignment. You’re probably pretty stressed, right? 

Moving is a daunting task, and when your spouse is unable to be there to help you do the work, the process can become even more overwhelming. Fortunately, with a little preparation and a calm attitude, you can get your family moved to your new location and still maintain your sanity!

Keep Everything Organized

The worst mistake you can make when moving is being disorganized. Especially if you have children, you can’t afford to be unprepared for each step of the process. 

Make a List For Everything 

It all begins with the organization– make a list for just about everything. List out all of the things you will need to do before you even start packing, such as your preferred moving service, costs associated with the move, personal items you will need for the trip, etc. These will all need to be decided ahead of time. It’s worth the extra time to make sure that the moving process starts on a good footing. 

Identify What is Most Valuable to You

Keep a list of your most valuable items, such as electronics, jewelry, family heirlooms, and sentimental belongings. It’s common for possessions to be damaged, lost, or sometimes even stolen during the moving process. Keeping a checklist of these items to ensure they make it through the move safely will prove to be beneficial.

  1. Set Aside the Essentials

Another helpful tip for planning your move is to pack the essential items that you will need right when you get to your new home separately, such as toiletries, phone chargers, a change of clothes, and some food. The last thing you’ll want after traveling to your new home is to have to dig through boxes to find the things you need to get settled in that first night. To make things even easier and time-efficient for yourself and your family, you can have these essentials delivered to your new address while you are en route. This way, not only can you get settled into your new home quicker, but you won’t have to pack all of those items and lug them with you during your move.

  1. Pack Unused Items First 

Perhaps the best place to start packing is with your spouse’s belongings. While they are deployed, they won’t need any of the items they left behind and probably won’t for a while until after they return home. 

Holiday decorations are another good place to start if you are moving well in advance of the holidays. Anything that you can’t see yourself or your family using within the first month of living in your new home should be packed away first. From there, you can pack more and more of your belongings as your moving date approaches, leaving your immediate needs to be packed last.

Use Your Resources

  1. Utilize Military-Hired Movers

If you’re feeling exceptionally overwhelmed by the thought of moving yourself and your children all on your own, look to external resources for help. The military does offer help with packing and moving your belongings to your new home. It could be very helpful to get a few additional adults to help you with the process of packing and moving. Especially if this service comes at little to no cost to you, you might as well make use of the help. 

  1. Get Your Kids Involved

Including your children in the entirety of the moving process can help them cope with their own stress associated with uprooting their lives. This can be very beneficial for your family as a whole. Whether your children are very young, or young adults, there are a few things children of nearly any age can do to help with packing and moving. 

For the little ones, you can give them the assignment of collecting their favorite belongings and setting them aside to be packed separately. Doing so will make it easier for your child to feel more at ease during the move knowing that their favorite things are safe and easily accessible once they get to their new home. 

For slightly older children, you can give them even more practical assignments from house hunting to packing up the entirety of their bedroom. It’s important that your kids feel as though they have some choice and control over the situation in order to feel better about leaving their friends and school life behind. 

Take it Slow

Moving without your spouse there to be involved in the process can be very emotional for you and your family. The stress of moving, missing your loved one, solo parenting, and uprooting your family can be exhausting. 

For this reason, getting help from movers and your family members is going to make a big difference in the emotional exhaustion this process may cause. Don’t try to do everything on your own, and don’t try to get everything done in only a few days either. Once you get to your new home, take your time moving in and getting settled. Remember, there’s no time limit on unpacking.

No matter what, moving is inevitable for military spouses, as is moving while your spouse is deployed. While you probably wish you could avoid relocating on your own, it’s best to have a solid plan for doing so. Try out a few of these hacks the next time you are assigned to a new duty station, and above all else, stay calm!

PCSing Anytime Soon? These Companies, Organizations, and Resources Can Help

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Is there a PCS in your future? Is it time to start packing up boxes and getting on your way? Need some help with where to live at your next duty station?

A PCS can be a challenging season in your life. There is a lot to do, and not all of it is super clear. Back when we were PCSing overseas to Germany, there were so many steps that I felt my head was going to explode.

On the other end, it took almost a couple of months to feel even somewhat settled in my new home. Everything was so new and different from what I was used to. And it took some time to get to a place where I could breathe.

The good thing is that there are resources out there to help military spouses through a PCS. There are companies that will help you make decisions about where to live. There are companies that will help you figure out how to pack. There are companies to help you figure out how to decorate within the military community.

Like anything else in military life, we don’t have to go through a PCS alone. Here is a list of companies, organizations, and military spouses to help you during your next PCS:

PCS Resources

MilSpouseConversations OCONUS Talk

MilSpouseConversations had a great talk in March about PCSing overseas. This group of military spouses has been through quite a few overseas moves from Japan to Germany. MilSpouseConversations is about real raw, real topics, and real conversations with a group of military spouses with over 100 years of military spouse experience between them.

PCSgrades

Trying to decide on a neighborhood at your next duty station? Looking for a realtor? PCSgrades has reviews on many different off-post or on-post neighborhoods, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, moving companies, apartments, and schools.

Millie

Millie is also a great place to go for help before a PCS. Their Millie Scouts can be your boots on the ground, to help you review a future home when you can’t do so in person. They also have AgentHeroes who understand military life and can help you find a new home.

Permanent Change of Storing

Permanent Change of Storing is owned and founded by Navy wife, Christa Curtis. Permanent Change of Storing will help you with organizing your home, PCS prep, settling in, and more.

Military One Source

Military One Source offers PCS help too. You can connect with experts that can help you through your move, Plan My Move, which offers a tool that gives you customized lists and more, and MilitaryINSTALLATIONS which is the official DoD guide for military institutions worldwide.

Move.Mil

Move.Mil is the official DoD Moving Portal. Here you can find information and guidance for your move, where you can schedule your move, information about shipping your car, and even tips for settling in.

Military By Owner

This company provides advertising for selling a home near military installations as well as resources on different aspects of military life, real estate, and homeownership. They can also be a great place to look for a home either to rent or to buy.

At Ease Rentals

This company provides active duty and their families, DoD employees, military contractors, as well as federal employees with short-term rentals that are pre-approved to meet FTR (Federal Travel Regulation).

PCSing.com

At Pcsing.com, you can find a one-stop information resource for service members and their families that are going through a military move.

MilHousing Network

MilHousing Network connects military families with military real estate experts in the US. They also run the Facebook group, Things I Wish I Knew Before I PCS’d.

Moving House for the Military Spouse

Moving House for the Military Spouse is a Facebook page that shows real life photos from military housing.

AHRN

AHRN stands for the Automated Housing Referral Network is a website for members of the military who are searching for housing at a new duty station.

PCS Money

Need to know about PCS travel and relocation allowances or weight limits? You can find that information on the Defense Travel website.

BAH

Curious about BAH at your upcoming duty station, go here for the BAH calculator.

This post does contain some affiliate links!

PCS Themed Products

MilitaryPrintables

Looking for a PCS Binder Printable Kit? Check out MilitaryPrintables on Etsy.

Welcome to Rota: The Unofficial Guide to Getting Settled, and Enjoying the Culture, Food, and Travel Opportunities of Southern Spain

This book, written by fellow military spouse and writer, Lizann Lightfoot, is all about living in OCONUS in Rota, Spain.

Milly’s PCS Worries

This children’s book, written by Amy Rivera and illustrated by Dayanese A. Rodriguez, is about Izzy and Milly, whose dad is in the military and gets orders to PCS.

Olive Fox Paper Shop

Looking for cute PCS announcements? Olive Fox Paper Shop has some super cute choices.

Moving With the Military

Moving With the Military is a home improvement lifestyle series that celebrates military families with home makeovers.

Facebook Groups

In my own Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life Facebook group you can find a ton of posts based on duty stations both in the US and OCONUS. Just join the group, and do a search to see if your questions have already been asked about your future duty station.

PCS Like a Pro is an educational and supportive community for all things PCS related.

White Walls is a group to help with interior decor inspiration to make your military home feel like home.

Lost During My PCS is a group to help military families find missing items that they have lost during a PCS.

Military PCS With Pets is all about sharing information on how to PCS with pets.

Articles and Blog Posts About PCSing

5 Things to Do When You Get PCS Orders

PCS: Moving the Family Pet

Checklist for PCS Moves

The Ultimate PCS Guide to Packing Out – with Printables!

Bloom Where You Are Planted – 5 Things To Make A New House Feel Like Home

How to Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time

Tips for First-Time Military Homebuyers (and Mistakes to Avoid!)

50 Tips You NEED Before Your Next PCS Move

PCSing with an EFMP family member

Duty Station Guest Posts – Here at Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life you can find many different guest posts on duty stations both CONUS and OCONUS.

PCSing This Summer? These Relocation Tips Will Help!

PCSing can be such a big part of military life. Whether you are moving four hours or 3,000 miles away from your previous home. Luckily, there are many resources out there to help including the ones listed above. Good luck! And enjoy this part of military life.

Getting PCS Orders to a Place You Really Don’t Want to Go

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Getting PCS Orders to a Place You Really Don't Want to Go

Getting PCS Orders to a Place You Really Don’t Want to Go

This post contains affiliate links! 

You are waiting on PCS orders, hoping for Hawaii or even Germany. If you can’t go OCONUS, you are pulling for Fort Carson, your best friend lives there and you have heard so many good things. Your spouse comes home with orders for Fort Bliss.

After 5 years overseas you just want to get stationed somewhere on the East Coast so you will be just a few hours from your family. You learn you will be PCSing to JBLM in Washington.

After spending 10 years in landlocked states you are hoping for a PCS to anywhere near an ocean. He gets orders to Fort Riley.

As any military spouse can tell you, there are certain places we want to go and certain places we don’t. Sure, most of us would love to PCS to some of the more popular military installation locations but that isn’t always what goes into where you want to go. Sometimes you just want to be close to home. Sometimes you just want to see another part of the world.

But what do you do when you get those long-awaited orders and they are for a place you don’t want to go?

The orders are for a place too far away from home or too different from what you expected. What if you get orders for a place you have heard nothing but bad things about? How can you get past that? How can you get excited for your new adventure when all you feel about it is dread?

Here are some ideas for when you get pcs orders to a place you don’t want to go:

Talk to people who like the area

I don’t care where you are going, you can always find at least one person that liked that duty station. Trust me. Some people are just able to bloom where the are stationed and others are able to find that one thing to make their current location enjoyable.

See if you can find people to talk to that live or have lived in that location. Most places have Facebook groups. I have duty station guest posts you can read. Ask for real-life advice on social media.

Investigate

Once you find out where you are going, you can start your PCS planning process. If you are not excited about where you are going, spend some time looking into your new home. Find out what is nearby, what people do for fun, what your housing choices are.

The more you can learn about your new duty station the better prepared you can be once you move there and you are setting up your new life. Check out PCSgrades for more information about housing areas and neighborhoods that you might want to live in.

Make plans

Make a plan for once you get to your new home. Where will you go to make friends? What will you do for fun?

If you can figure some of this out before you go, you will be more excited to get there. If you would like to find a job in your new location, get your resume ready and seek out what is available to you. You can also look into working from home if that is something you would like to do.

Visit home before you go

If you are going to be stationed far from home, why not plan a trip back home before you go? See if you can work that in. See the people you want to see and do all the things you know you will miss while you are stationed far away.

Homesickness is real but planning a big trip to see everyone can help. And know that just because you will be stationed far away doesn’t mean you won’t ever be able to visit during the years you are there. You might be able to plan a trip or take advantage of Space-A if you are overseas.

What about you? Did you ever end up in a place you didn’t think you would like? Do you have PCS orders to somewhere you are not sure you will like? Leave a comment 🙂

When You Are New, After a PCS

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When You Are New, After a PCS

Your flight got in late, so by the time you got to the post hotel, you still didn’t have a good idea of where you now were. Where you would call home. Your next duty station.

You have seen photos and heard stories. Both good and bad. But this PCS has made you nervous and you aren’t sure all what to expect. 

As you wake up the next morning, you suddenly remember something you forgot to do before you left your last duty station. However, it doesn’t matter, you have moved on to the next place. This is your reality now.

You go out with your spouse and kids, go exploring. You might have to wait for housing and just hope that wait isn’t too long. The hotel is okay but the thought of having to stay there for a while makes you kinda hyperventilate. Especially with little kids.

You get things sorted out. You find the PX. You find the Commissary. Things are so different than your old post, how will you ever find your way around?

Days pass and you are still at the hotel but housing tells you only a few more days. Your kids are getting restless, your kids are getting anxious and so are you. You just want to get to your new house.

Your son wants to know when they will see their best buddy again and your daughter is confused about everything. She is only three and you are not sure she will even remember this move. You are not sure what your kids will remember about all of this. 

A few more days pass and then it is time to move in, to your new home. You question if living on post was the best choice, you just don’t know. You question if accepting this house was the right choice, or should you have waited for something else? 

Well, the choice has been made and it is time. Time to get to know the place that will be yours for the next few years. The place you will put your belongings and make yours, even with the white walls and tiny kitchen.

As you move your things in, you find your kids exploring too. You hope and pray the kids in this neighborhood are nice. You hope their parents are too.

Time goes on and you still feel so new. You had to ask someone where the MWR was, for a second time, you just can’t seem to remember. You worry you will never figure it out.

More time goes by and although some people have been friendly, you haven’t made any friends yet and you wonder what to do. Should you join that book club you have seen advertised? Should you take your kids to MOPS? It all feels a bit overwhelming.

More time goes on and you start to get used to the routine again. Everything has been unpacked, your kids are making friends and you are starting to find some of your new duty station’s hidden gems.

But still, you feel like the new girl, not sure how to find your people. Not sure of your place here. Not sure what to do next.

You miss your friends, you miss your people. You used to have a solid group. People to hang with, people to have fun with, people to get through deployments with.

But then, when you aren’t even noticing, you find yourself fitting in more and more each day. You are making friends, and finding your place.

This new duty station is becoming your home. And your previous one is becoming a memory. And you have some hope that this move is going to be a good one, even though it took you a while to get there.

Just like everything else you have experienced in military life, you figured out how to make it through this PCS. To get to the other side. To get past the stress and the emotions of a move and a new home.

While you know that you will have to do all of this again in a few years, you hope that you can remember what you learned from this PCS. You hope that you will remember that as hard as saying goodbye is, there will be hellos in your future. You hope that you will remember that although so much of the move is stressful, a PCS is a good time for a new start, and a time to thrive in different ways than you have done before.

How many times have you moved with the military?

5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On Post

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5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On Post

The choice to live on post or off post is a personal one, depending on the military family, the location, and financial goals. What works for one family, might not work for another.

During your time as a military spouse, you might enjoy living on post in some places, and prefer living off post in others. Some families find they prefer to always live on post and others would rather always stay off.

When it comes to making the decision to live on or off post, it is best to know what you are getting into, what your options truly are, and weigh your pros and cons.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself before making that decision:

Will you save money living on post?

Saving money is one of the most common reasons why people choose to either live on or off post. You have to figure out what will work best for you based on where you live, your BAH, and what type of home you will be living in. Not everyone is going to come to the same conclusion, even at the same duty station.

You would need to figure out what type of home you would be given on post, and compare that to what you could afford off post. Look at what your BAH would be to help figure out your budget. You need to make sure to include utilities, gas to drive to post, and any other fees you might not have to pay if you live on post.

How long will it take each of you to get to work?

Think about your commute time. If you are on post, your service member could live just a few minutes from work. If you are off post, you might be a few minutes from your job. Think about how much you might pay in gas, how long you want to be in the car, and weigh the pros and cons.

How are the schools on post vs off?

Schools are super important when you have children. You want to send them to the best place possible. When it comes to which schools are better, either on or off post schools, it really depends. You can look at school ratings but your best bet is asking people whose children have actually attended those schools.

If you are not in the area yet, you can easily ask this kind of thing in local Facebook groups. Just keep in mind that one bad experience does not make for a horrible school and there could be different factors as to why each person had the experience they did. Having special needs kids and knowing what is available to them is also a big factor in making this decision.

What type of home do you want?

This is another big factor in deciding if you will live on or off post at your duty station. Are you okay living in an apartment, condo or duplex? Do you want land? Do you want to build your own house?

At some duty stations, you might be more limited than others based on what you can get on post. Sometimes there can be long waiting lists for housing and you have to take what you can get if you do want to live on post.

How much military do you want in your daily life?

If you live on post, the military is going to be a bigger part of your daily life than if you live off post. If you live off post, you, as a spouse, might not even have to go on post all that often. So this totally depends on what you want.

Your service member might want a little bit of space from work as well. They might want to drive 15 minutes in order to get home instead of feeling like they live right next to their daily job. Being on post means you will be closer to everything military related, but ask yourself if that is a good or a bad thing.

Does your family prefer to live on or off post? Or on or off base for those who are not Army spouses 🙂

9 Reasons Why PCSing Can Be Amazing, in GIFs

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9 Reasons Why PCSing Can Be Amazing, in GIFs

Are you moving this summer? Summer is PCS season and so many military families will be going to a new duty station in the next few months. Some military families will be excited to PCS, and others, not as much.

PCSing can be such an amazing thing. Moving is a fresh start, and while super stressful, can be an exciting part of military life. When I talk to military spouses who have been doing this forever, they have such a fantastic list of places their family has called home.

In case you are feeling down about your future PCS, or maybe you just want a laugh, here are 9 reasons why PCSing can be amazing…in GIFs.

You get to have a new, or at least new to you house

Maybe it isn’t everything you ever dreamed of, but you will be able to make a home somewhere new, and sometimes that is refreshing. Even if it does look like a pineapple.

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Find new friends!

I know how hard saying goodbye to your friend circle is and doing so if never easy. But after a PCS, you have a chance to make new friends. Some of them will be in your life forever, and if you are struggling with friends at your current duty station, you can look forward to starting over somewhere new.

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You can get away from all the annoying bugs your current duty station has

Some duty stations get the nastiest bugs, others? Not so much.

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You love the snow and are excited about being in a place that gets some

But be careful, I heard that Colorado just got a bunch at the end of May. Be careful what you wish for.

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You hate the cold and now you won’t even need to own a coat

But even in Hawaii, you might want a sweatshirt, or so I have heard.

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You want a big reason to get rid of all the stuff you said you would get rid of years ago

Does it give you joy? No really? Does it?

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You need some space from your family who happens to only live two hours away

At first, being two hours away sounded lovely, until that meant you were required to go to every single family function. You love your family but you really want some space.

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You want to see the world and you figure that Germany is the perfect place to start

From Germany you can see most of Europe, and then beyond. It will be fabulous…hopefully…you do have two babies.

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You are finally going to be at the same duty station as your best friend

Finally! The PCS gods looked your way and you and your BFF will have the time of your lives, even if your spouses do have to deploy.

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This post contains affiliate links!

There’s a great resource in our community that can be helpful in this process. Our friends at PCSgrades and HomeScout have partnered together to allow for an easier experience. 💁‍♀️

Through PCSgrades, you can read reviews by our fellow military families for both on and off base neighborhoods, see photos and interactive maps of those areas along with school ratings. 🏫

Once you find a neighborhood you like, you can search for properties in that area using HomeScout which uses active MLS listings, the exact same data used by realtors. Throw in the cash rebates military families can receive through realtors found on PCSgrades and some great mortgage discounts…and it’s a win-win. 🤩


Please click here to get started—>>>https://bit.ly/2EvZa8o

You Always Remember Your First Military Home

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You Always Remember Your First Military Home

It’s been 13 years since I got on an airplane with my 18-month-old son, and really started our military journey. My husband had left for Germany 4.5 months before, and we were finally joining him.

And while I had technically been an Army Wife for the last 4.5 months, this trip would open the gate to my first experience in Army living. While I had grown up between two military bases, and I knew kids whose parents served, the military had never been my world.

And now the military was very much my world, and I was nervous.

How could I not be?

Not only were we becoming a military family, but we were doing it in a different country. I have never been to Europe before and didn’t know what to expect. Germany would be an experience.

After a full day of travel, my husband picked us up at the airport and took us to our first Army home. It was a 2 bedroom stairwell apartment, on the 3rd floor. We had Army rented furniture, with a lovely maroon pattern, and made that place a home.

We ended up living there for over two years before we moved to another duty station in Germany. That home will always have a special place in my heart. And that wasn’t because I loved that apartment.

You Always Remember Your First Military Home

The apartment was new, which was nice, and we had a washer and dryer in our bathroom, which not everyone had. But it was also on the smaller side, and when people visited, the space became way too crowded. As my 2nd son became a toddler, I had a difficult time with the idea that we had to live there.

My downstairs neighbors heard us every time we walked anywhere and with a toddler, that wasn’t fun at all. I tried to stay as quiet as possible, but toddlers.

When I was pregnant, and my husband was deployed, being on the 3rd floor made things a little tricky. Going up and down those stairs more than once a day was almost impossible. Then, when my baby came, that was an added challenge.

I had to get creative when I would come home and both of my boys would be asleep in the car. I couldn’t possibly carry both in my arms at the same time. Should I leave one in the car? Should I wake up the sleeping toddler?

Buying groceries was a challenge too so I would end up going a few times a week and just buying enough food to be able to carry in a couple of bags. That way, I didn’t have to take a full load up by myself. If only we had a grocery delivery service back then.

Our apartment was in the back of the building which meant we had a fabulous view of Germany, and I loved waking up to that. When the weather was bad, I could pretty much see the storm coming. That view was a lovely thing in the midst of a crazy time.

I got through our long 15-month deployment in this apartment. Through the days he was gone, the challenges that I dealt with, and the lonely nights.

I will never forget that place. I have heard the buildings have been torn down, so no matter what, I will never be able to see that place again. But our first military home will always be in my memories as the place I learned how to Military Spouse.

You Always Remember Your First Military Home

That home is where I lived when I met my first military spouse friends.

That home is where I wrote love letters to my husband to send to Iraq.

That home is where I learned how to stay as busy as possible, and where I realzied I was not alone in my military spouse ourney.

At the end of R&R, my husband leaned over and gave our 2.5-week-old a kiss goodbye in that apartment, not knowing he wouldn’t see him until he was almost a year old.

My husband met our son in that apartment, coming back from Iraq, three days after he was born.

As a new military spouse, I spent a full jet-lagged day, trying to figure out this new life that we had started, the day after we landed in Germany.

You Always Remember Your First Military Home

As military spouses, you will probably live in many different homes. I know some seasoned spouses who, at retirement, have lived in 20-30 different places. But, I think, no matter how many times you have moved, most people remember that first military home.

They remember what it was like to see the military movers arrive and bring all your household belongs in, praying they don’t break anything important.

They remember meeting their first military spouse neighbors and realizing how much they had in common.

They remember how it felt when they saw their spouse walking in the door in uniform, after a long day of work.

Going forward, they will probably always compare every other home with this one. They will probably think about how different that first home was from what they have now. And they might even miss the place, some more than others.

That first military home could bring up difficult memories, of times before things changed, of a former life. And for some, thinking of that home can bring up some hard to deal with emotions, and maybe just maybe they want to forget all about that place.

And for others, that home could have been the place where they discovered they were strong enough to get through anything, where they found themselves, and where they grew up and became the person they are today.

What about you? Do you remember your first military home? Do you ever miss it?

The Milspouse Guide to Spring Cleaning

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The Milspouse Guide to Spring Cleaning

Spring is right around the corner, and a time to clean out our homes, and get things a little more organized. Maybe you are going to be PCSing this next year, or may you are not going to moving anytime soon, but either way, working on your home is a good thing.

Here are some fun tips to help you with your spring cleaning:

  • Remove extra PCS stickers, you know you still have some from your last move. Unless you want to make a PCS sticker ornament.
  • Do you really need to keep those curtains? You haven’t used them in the last two houses, and they certainly don’t fit in this one.
  • Go and deliver those bags that have been driving around in your trunk after you did some Marie Kondo in your home a few weeks ago. It’s time for them to go.
  • Pretend you actually are PCSing, what should you get rid of? Would you really want to move with all of your current household goods? Is now the time to replace your old couches?
  • Focus on yourself sometimes. Are you getting enough me time? What can you do to change that? Self-care is imporant, especially if you are in the midst of solo parenting.
  • Find space for all that military crap. The living room is not an ideal place. Clean out a closet, or buy some extra storage. And quit tripping over those boots.
  • Go through your kid’s toys, get rid of all the broken ones, the Mcdonald’s toys, and anything they don’t care about anymore. The fewer toys they have, the easier it is for them to keep their room clean. Also, this is an ongoing battle that you will have to deal with for years.
  • Delete those emails from your old FRG, you don’t need them anymore. That deployment ended in 2014. If they are still sending them to you? Shoot them an email asking to take you off the list. You have moved on.
  • Do something with all those love letters. Put them in a scrapbook, hang them on a wall, or put them in a frame. They are special and should be celebrated. Unless they are super mushy romantic…then, keep them in your underwear drawer instead.
  • Donate those old ball dresses. You never go anyway. And if you do sometime in the future, you have an excuse to buy another dress.
  • Put up those photos you have been meaning to put up since you moved in six months ago. You know you want to, you have a lot of great ones from your past duty stations. Make time for this and your house will thank you.
  • Dust. I know, dusting sucks. Make your kids do it. Pay them in cookies.
  • Go through your makeup. That stuff doesn’t last forever. And isn’t it nice to buy something new every once in a while? Don’t forget your brushes.
  • Go through your books. Keep the ones you love, and pass on the ones you don’t. Save the deployment ones, you never know when you might need them again. Sigh.
  • Go through your DVDs. Can you find these movies on Netflix? If so, get rid of them. Except for the ones you always have to watch when they are deployed. You never know when Netflix will pull them and you always want to have them on hand.

What do YOU like to do to spring clean your home? Any tips???

How to Plan a PCS Road Trip

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This post is sponsored by Pcsing.com! 

You are stationed in New York, and your spouse gets orders to Arizona. Report date? June 15th! With your three kids, two dogs, and big old van, why not turn your PCS into a PCS road trip?

Sometimes when you PCS you will get on an airplane, and land in your new location hours later. You are excited about your new duty station, but the plane trip? Not so much. If you go on a PCS road trip, the actual time it takes to get there can be just as exciting.

When planning such a trip, there are a few things you should keep in mind in order to make your trip successful. 

Check the routes

You know where you are and where you need to go. Check and see which route would be best. Is there anything you really want to see? Use Roadtrippers.com to help you plan your trip. There might be a quicker way to get to your new city, but if you want to have a better trip, it might be worth taking a longer route to see landmarks and sights you never would otherwise be able to see. 

Watch the weather

Think about the time of year you are leaving and plan accordingly. You don’t want to get stuck in Colorado in January. If you do have to drive during the winter months, taking the southern route might be a better idea. Still, no matter what your route is, keep an eye on the weather and add in extra days just in case. 

Give yourself enough time

Your spouse has to report on a certain date, make sure you plan for that. Give yourselves a lot of extra time so you can enjoy the ride and not be rushed. Think about all you want to see on the way and plan accordingly. 

Stop early for the day

If you have kids, and pets, or even if you don’t, stop in the afternoon so there is time to go swimming, let the kids play on a playground, and have dinner together. You don’t want to pull into a hotel at 9 pm at night, still needing to find some dinner for the kids. 

Prep your kids

If your kids are old enough, prep them for the trip. Let them know your route and give them their own map. Let them help plan some of the stops. Bring “surprises” for them to open during the more boring parts of the drive. 

Have back up plans

What will you do if you have a hotel reservation in Utah but get stuck in a massive traffic jam while still in California? Think about back up plans, and make sure you have extra money to spend in case you need to add unexpected stops or if you have a car emergency along the way. 

Connect with friends

If you have friends along your route, see if you can see them. You might even be able to stay with them instead of a hotel. If nothing else, you can plan your meals so that you are able to meet up and connect, if only for a few hours over lunch. 

Don’t forget the snacks

You are going to need snacks, and many of them. You could always purchase them on the way but having a snack plan is a must. This will help if you still have an hour to go before it is time to stop for dinner and someone gets hungry. You also will want to have snacks for the hotel room or even for when you get to your new area. 

Plan for pets

If you are on a PCS road trip, you are going to have your pets with you. Make plans for them. Does your dog get car sickness? Does your cat suffer from anxiety in the car? Talk to your vet about what you might need and make sure that anywhere you will be staying allows pets. Some hotels and motels do not.

Pcsing across the country can be overwhelming but turning that trip into a fun road trip can be the way to go.

Have you ever gone on a PCS road trip? Where did you go?

Visit PCSing.com for your next PCS! You can find out information about your next duty station, read articles about PCSing, and more.