This post was written last year. Life was super hectic so I waited to post. As we near the one year mark in January, I feel like it’s the best time to post now that we are here and settled. And – you might be going through this as well! Let me tell you, you are going to get through and everything will be ok! It’s always something to read your words from months prior. Compare how you were feeling then to, how you are feeling now. PCSing during the holidays is hard and daunting. We didn’t have a difficult move per say, but none the less it leaves you with all kinds of feelings.
Thanks to the Army we are pcsing during the holidays this year (2017). We’re currently “homeless.” It sounds terrible to say it but it’s true. We don’t currently have a home to call our own. PCSing during the holidays is good and bad, I’ll tell you why.
Depending on where you could be stationed next, home could be close by. For us the move from Fort Gordon (GA) to Fort Polk (LA) is actually a sort of welcomed one. I know, who willingly wants to move to Ft. Polk? No one actually does(from the responses we get when we say we are headed there), but we are and it’s happening so why not be ok with it right? It’s what you make of it my friends. We decided it would be best for us to come spend the holidays with family and then cross the border to LA and complete the pcs.
Our household items were packed and picked up on December 7th. Yes, you read that right, the 7th of December, (at the time then) it’s now January. We did that because we wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any issues with leaving right before the holidays. Thankfully we’ve received confirmation that our household goods made it to Fort Polk and are now in storage. I am praying that it’s a good storage facility and our stuff was removed from the semi carefully.. Wishful thinking. I try to stay positive my friends, it’s all we can do. We are at their mercy.
We spent a beautiful time with our families home in Texas. My older sister and her family were able to join us in Texas so it was super sweet, we just missed our younger sister they are stationed in Maryland. But we made the best of the holiday and having family together. It was great.
Now that the holidays are over, the move will finally be complete this Thursday. Well I say complete, but we make it to our next duty station officially on Thursday. We become Fort Polkers. 😉 I don’t think they call themselves that, I just made that up. But yes, the next move is complete and we’ve got to find a house and make it a home. If you’ve been a part of the journey you know I’m all about the house hunting. I’ve written a couple posts about how we decide on housing, HERE and what sites I use when house hunting HERE. Make sure to bookmark them for your next move.
The only thing I’m really not sure about is the school situation for the kids. There’s two private Christian schools and public schools. We are looking for a home in a good district so depending on what we decide we can get the boys into a good district. If it wasn’t about the money or the 30 minute school commute it’d be a very easy decision. When it comes to our kids education we have to take the time and consider all options.
UPDATE: We didnt’ end up at the private school. The boys ride the bus to the local school we are zoned for and they love it. It’s a challenging school, but I think in the long run it is good for them to be challenged now. It’s my opinion that they be ahead rather than behind because we have one more move and you just never know. So here’s hoping the school continues to be great for them. I will say though that high school starts in 7th grade, Aramis is in 6th this year so I’m sure I’ll have feelings come the Spring time. I’m not excited for that. But we’ll see how it goes right?!
UPDATE: We found in a house in a great neighborhood and we are making it home. Still.. working on making it home. With each move I get worse at decorating. Thanks to Lindsey and Maddie I have some pictures and frames up around my house. I say frames because they are empty. I need to add pictures, I’m baby stepping it friends. Other than that we have two boxes left to unpack, yes 10 months later. It’s just stuff from our junk drawer so I should be able to throw most of it away. The garage probably won’t be used for my car yet the whole time we are here. This house has less storage space, so the garage turned into our storage shed. We hope to get rid of more stuff and be more organized for our last duty station move. But we’ll see! LOL
I’ll write more about the things to do here and around the area soon. We’re still getting out and there’s lots to share.
So here’s a few tips for pcsing during the holidays:
- Plan ahead in case transportation gets busy. This was the reason for getting our household good packed so early.
- This is for spouses too! Learn the process of a pcs and work together as a team. You never know when you’ll have to do it alone! #justsaying
- Check the school calendars for the areas you are looking at, reach out to the schools you are considering and find out the registration requirements to be prepared and don’t pack those items! Most likely your kids will start the day after all of the kids return from holiday. We’ll do a separate post on tips for the kids, I’ll have my kids help me!
- Depending on how far you’ll be traveling to get to your next duty station, if you can add in a few days of travel to celebrate the holidays. Or find a theme park or themed hotel to stay at to get the kids and your minds off of the move. Enjoy it.
I’ll update with more as I think of them! or add yours as you share them 🙂
Question:
What tips can you offer for pcsing during the holidays?
Cheers!
Candy
