Military Moves and the Average Family

This morning, a representative for the moving company came by to estimate how long it should take to pack and move us.

This s*** just got real. We have exactly one month from today before we are going to be packed up and moved to North Dakota.

As with every move, people ask us if we are excited. And the truest answer I can come up with is yes and no.

Yes, I'm excited to leave Asheville. While it's truly a beautiful place to live, it hasn't proved to be the best fit for us in a variety of ways. I'm excited to live somewhere we haven't lived before.

Every place we've been stationed has offered something unique and special that sort of merges into our lives and we miss once we leave. I'm excited to be one step closer to our last move. This may be it, or we may end up moving one, two, or more times after this. Who knows?

I'm excited that we will meet new friends, see new things, and be able to offer the kids a safe environment with people who are going through the same things my kids are - new schools, new house, new city, new life.

I'm not excited to be moving so far away from my parents. That sadness comes with an extra-large side of 'suck it up' because we've never lived very close to Robert's parents, and I realize how lucky we have been to be as close to my folks as we have been the last two years.

I'm not excited to leave my friends again. My first move away from my hometown showed me how rare long-lasting friendships are. I've never forgotten or stopped being grateful for my personal circle of friends that stick with me no matter what; and with whom I can pick up just where we left off, whether it's a day, a year, or a decade later.

I'm not excited my kids will have to say good-bye to the friends they've made - again. Or that they will have to change schools - again. Or that the inevitable adjustment issues for all of us will have us bickering and irritable for a while until we get settled. But that's all a part of this life. I'm not excited to be in limbo and living out of suitcases until we get a house. I'm not super excited about unpacking, either, truth be told.

But this is the life we've chosen. Ups and downs, good and bad - it's all inclusive. And I hope that one day my kids will understand how lucky they have been to be able to live so many radically different places while they were growing up. I hope that these moves will cement us as a family, and they know that no matter what our addresses say, home will be wherever the four of us are together.  And that home will always, always be filled with love.