First taste

We are t-minus our first PCS (permanent change of station). This is my first taste of the bittersweet effects of a military move. When I moved away from home to Hunter Army Airfield with Ben the morning after we got married, I had a tough time. I cried my eyes out saying good-bye to my family and the life I had known for almost 25 years.

This is different. The excitement of a new adventure is the same, but when I left my friends and family in Ohio, I knew I would see them again. They have been a part of my life for so long that I knew moving wouldn't diminish the relationships I shared with any of them, despite the distance and few times I got to come back to Cincinnati. When you make a military move, you know as you take those last things off the wall and watch the movers pack up your life that you may never again see some of the people that (for your time at your current duty station) were the backbone of your world. It's not for lack of want, but lack of finances that make it impossible to see some friends again.....only fate let's you meet again somewhere in the world under different circumstances at yet another duty station.

Some of these women I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know here at Hunter may not be my best friends who know me better than all others...but they became my sisters. They were the only ones who knew the sadness and loneliness of deployments and the joy and overwhelming excitment at a 4-day weekend. They are the blessed few who understand the anticipation of another "honeymoon" because their husbands are coming home from another deployment and no one judges you because you disappear for a few days or weeks while you try and figure things out with the husband who came home from a long TDY. We are at each others baby showers and kids birthday parties, we share struggles and triumphs, we cry and laugh at the same "war stories." These women start book clubs, Bible studies, lunch groups and playdates to help pass the time and stay connected. I have known so many of these ladies for less than 2 years and the connection we share is beyond what words can express.

I am so grateful that these women have been a part of my life through such a challenging past 5 years. I couldn't be more excited for the next chapter in our lives at Fort Benning. We are going to experience, for the very first time, what it means to be a family. To have the time to bond without the threat of a deployment looming overhead, the thrill of having weekends to actually do an activity outside of a 30 minute radius, the joy of a fairly predictable schedule....but I am so sad. I am so sad that I am leaving behind another family. The bittersweet taste is hard to swallow even though I know it is beautiful and wonderful things in our future. Best make the most of these last two weeks and make them count!