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…and Crossing my Fingers it all works out
Last weekend was one crazy weekend filled with graduations, celebrations, and commissioning ceremonies and now it is official…my husband is a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army and I couldn’t be prouder! I cannot express the feeling I felt when my husband stood along 30 or so other cadets as they all simultaneously were sworn into the military. Their voices were strong and powerful as they spoke as a group but each them were making a personal commitment to their country and their selflessness leaves me in complete amazement, along with every other man or women that choses to serve in the military.
Now it all becomes real. It all moves beyond what I have been researching in books and reading online and in a matter of two weeks we will be living the life through our first TDY. It’s not really the TDY that has me concerned, he has left for training the last couple of summers…although he will be gone a few months longer than I am use to, I think I can handle the separation (As well as anybody can handle being away from their spouse for a long period of time). What I am concerned with is the crazy amount of stuff that has to get done before he leaves and within the short travel time he is given between his TDY and our very first PCS to Georgia.
I am all about being proactive and getting things done ahead of time. However, as soon as I start to go over our to-do list with my husband and as I am searching for things we can cross off our list, it seems like the majority of the items have some sort of obstacle in the way that prevents us from completing it. For example, I need to get signed up for health care, and start working with the transportation office for our move to Georgia. But, none of this can actually be done until he officially has active duty status and that doesn’t happen until his first allotted travel day to his TDY. So we basically have one day to get everything done before he has to drive across the country…Is it possible…I have no idea, I’ve never done any of this before…but, we are sure going to try!
Instead of my list being this linear thing that I am use to where I can cross off one thing after the next after the next, it seems to have quickly morphed into a puzzle and all the pieces have to fit together perfectly in order for everything to work out smoothly (I’m not sure if this is a problem because of the army or a general life problem but man it’s tough growing up J ). Because I have never done any of this before, I feel like I am just shooting in the dark and crossing my fingers that everything will get done correctly. No matter what happens or how smoothly (or not so smooth) our move goes, I will more than likely feel completely overwhelmed up until our first PCS to Georgia is complete…and who am I kidding, I will be overwhelmed after that I’m sure. (Basically because I am a complete control freak) However, I have found so many wonderful resources to (help) calm my nerves and to help me through my check list. I thought I would share a few of my favorites in hopes that it would help some of you…
1.) AWN’s New to Army Wife Life? This is a great page filled with a lot of great resources. I particularly like the Newbie Booklist Suggestions. I purchased a handful of the suggested books online at really reasonable prices. Also, there are some pretty great pieces of advice from the AWN team…go check them out! (http://www.armywifenetwork.com/?page_id=34)
2.) AWN’s PCS Guide is also extremely helpful! There are so many wonderful resources and I cannot tell you how much I love how they explain and talk about all the different things/terms you will encounter throughout your PCS. Check it out here( http://www.armywifenetwork.com/?page_id=4312)
3.) Military HomeFront also has a lot of really great information but the thing that I fell in love with on their site is their Plan My Move. No matter if you are new to the military or not, you have really got to check this out! All you do is put where you are currently stationed, where you are being reassigned, when you plan to depart, and answer a couple of questions like if this is your first move or not. You click go…and your move is planned in a matter of seconds…this is totally amazing to me. A calendar is generated specifically for your move and it tells you when to do what..,AMAZING! Try it out for yourself here (http://apps.mhf.dod.mil/pls/psgprod/f?p=MHF:RELO:0::::SID:20.40.500.398.0.0.0.0.0)
4.) Right now I am reading Confessions of a Military Wife by Millie Gross. She tells her story so wonderfully. She has helped me to realize that no matter what happens throughout this journey you just have to have fun a laugh. She has some pretty crazy stories and I hope my experience is at least half as fun as hers seems to be! Here is her website (http://www.molliegross.com/confessions-book) She is a hoot!
Welcome aboard the ‘hurry up and wait train’. There does always seem to be something in the way of progress but it always works itself out in the wash-so to speak-we are going on 16 years and last night my husband announces he is thinking about putting his name in the hat for BN CMDR! Yikes! He has not led a group of soldiers since Company Command and I have not been surrounded by Army wives since 2004! Good Luck to you!
We just made it to our FDS in Georgia. There were a lot of pieces and at times I felt so frustrated because we had to just wait and see. But it all worked out and all the boxes are unpacked. I love the resources!