Who’s Moving? When, Where, and Why?

Published on by Jodi1 Comment

That’s a great question. Thank you for asking.

And if you’re wondering, yes, I do spend a lot of time on TikTok, and if you don’t get that reference I’m sorry. ‘Cause it’s funny.

Anywho you may have already pieced together that my husband is in the military and that our family has recently received orders to move to Guam. Our past moves have been “easier” in at least one way in that we simply packed up the kids and all moved together, but since our most recent move in 2010, there’ve been a few changes to our family. Most notably, two of our kiddos had the audacity to grow-up.

Who’s Moving?

Our oldest, Aubrey, is 24 and married to our bonus son, Mak. They have done what annoying kids around the world do every day which is grow up and start lives of their own completely separate from their loving parents.

The nerve.

Currently * (and yes, that asterisk is what we call foreshadowing) they live and work in Eastern Washington. They will not be moving … at least not to Guam.

Our middle kiddo, our green kangaroo, Sydney, is 22. She does still live at home, but she’s also working, learning to pay her own bills, and doing all or at least most of the adulty things you should do at 22. She also will not be moving to Guam.

Last but not least on the kiddo list is, Tiny Bestie. She is 13 (a minor), and for the foreseeable future will be known only as Tiny Bestie. She has lived in Washington since she was 6 months old, has never made a military move, and thinks this whole Guam-PCS idea is complete bullshit. She, of course, will be moving to Guam.

That’s not too complicated, right? Well, we ain’t done yet, friend …

When?

My husband’s orders have him leaving mid-Spring which is a fine time to switch jobs but a really shitty time to switch schools. Add that to the fact that he isn’t heading straight to Guam but rather making a sort of pitstop for a bit in between (in which Tiny Bestie and I are not allowed to tag along), and you guessed it, those of us who ARE moving to Guam will be moving in shifts basically. Tiny Bestie and I will hold down the fort here in Washington until school is over here, and then fly away fly away fly away to Guam.

(Side note: Finding out about “Delayed Dependent Travel” is basically the only really great thing that has happened during this crap shoot PCS.)

Whew! So half of the fam is moving moving to Guam, and half is staying right here in Washington, right? Yes, quite literally. Those of us who aren’t moving to Guam will be moving (or staying put) right here in Mom and Dad’s house in Western Washington.

Where?

One of my early logistical concerns with this move to Guam was what to do with our house? This is the first house we’ve ever owned so in the past moving was as “easy” as a 30-day notice, but again, since moving to Washington in 2010, we’ve made some changes … like buying a house 6 years ago.

My biggest fear when we bought this house, and one of the biggest reasons we never even considered buying before, was the huge process it is to either rent or sell your house when you move. I know, I know lots of people do it, do it well, and even make some money in the process, but the whole thing just sounded like TOO MUCH to me, and well … here we sit in exactly that nightmare dilemna!

Also while my husband and I were weighing out our rent vs sell options, my middle was coming to terms with the state of the rental market in our area which is abysmal to say the least. She simply doesn’t make enough money to rent literally anything on her own working just one job, and call me a helicopter mom, but I wasn’t liking (read: was completely freaking out over) the prospect of her doing all this adulting on her own all alone for the first time without mom and dad or really any family close by to give her a hand if she needed it.

Enter Aubrey & Mak who had been looking for a way to get back to the Westside anyways. They were interested in ditching their small apartment with no yard for a house with a big yard for my Granddoggos, Max and Chancho.

BING BANG BOOM … an idea was born! A break lease fee, a u-haul, and a bunch of boxes later, the three who will NOT be moving to Guam will be staying right here taking care of Mom and Dad’s house, sharing the cost of the mortgage and utilities, and supporting one another for a few years while the rest of us move to Guam for a while. It’s a win for literally all involved.

So, in summary …

Josh is leaving first, with a pit stop in California, and will arrive in Guam sometime later this summer. Tiny Bestie and I will be headed straight to Guam once the school year ends, and Aubrey and Mak will be moving East to West sometime in May or June to house share with Sydney and (WHY?) to ease this momma’s anxiety.

How It Started; How It’s Going.

Published on by JodiLeave a comment

Last year my family began an amazing journey. Wait, that sounds stupid and boring. Let me start over.

Recently the Navy decided to uproot my family, separate my husband, youngest daughter, and I from my older children and the rest of our family by about 1 million miles. Tad dramatic? How about this …

Ten months ago, an email from my handsome husband changed our lives and set us on adventure that has already been scary, frustrating, and exciting, and we’re still just in the planning phase. We haven’t even begun the real adventure yet!

So here’s how it all begin.

Last April my youngest daughter and I went on vacation to Florida with my husband’s family. We arrived at Orlando International Airport after a stressful 24 hours of cancelled and rebooked flights, last minute hotel reservations, and disappearing and reappearing rental car reservations. We drove straight to the Magic Kingdom to catch up with our family and see a little Disney Magic. It was late when we arrived and we didn’t have much time, but we filled out bellies with Mickey-shaped foods and watched the fireworks at the end of the night.

Then while standing in line for the monorail with about 10,000 strangers trying to get out of the park, I got an email from my husband who was deployed at the time. He’d been gone for about a month, missing our long-planned Disney adventure, and I was missing him like crazy so I drank in every single word until I came to these …

“As for the slate and orders… no orders yet but I am slated to go to the USS Frank Cable in you guessed it…Guam. As it looks right now I would detach sometime around March and travel out shortly after. I just found out so I am still processing too. Lots to think about. We can snorkel and get scuba certified.”

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I mean … I knew he was up for orders. I knew we had agreed to “Big Navy” orders hoping for a tour outside of the country, but we were both thinking maybe Europe? The good ole Navy, of course, had others plans.

Guam plans.

I stared dumbfounded at my then 11-YEAR-OLD and shouted, “Holy shit! We’re moving to Guam!”

Stellar parenting.

Immediately she began to sob, “I don’t want to move! I don’t want to leave my friends! I don’t want to leave my school! I hate this!”

This was very out-of-the-blue news for both of us, but for my kiddo who has lived in Washington state since she was 6 months old and has never PCS’d, this news (that line up there I blurted like an asshole) was devastating. I hugged her and gave the only words of reassurance I could muster in my own shocked state.

“Don’t worry! This isn’t final! The orders aren’t even written yet. This probably won’t even stick! Don’t worry! Everything is going to be FINE!!! Please don’t cry!“

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

But cry she did, and so did I. I also blurted the news to my mother-in-law whose response was something along the lines of, “No… No! No.” She probably cried a little, too.

And then for the first time in all my years being a part of their family, I got stupid drunk on some kind of boxed wine in front of my in-laws. Couldn’t even drive the rental car around the corner to the condo we were supposed to be staying in.

Stellar parenting. Stellar adulting. Just fucking stellar all around.

And that is how it began. A little rocky.

I’d love to tell you that ten months later I have wrapped my head around this move, have everything in perfect order, and I’m raring to go and live in Guam for the next three years.

And I would tell you that, but then I’d be a big fat liar.

The process of PCS’ing overseas is difficult and confusing, and that’s just the paperwork. Nevermind figuring out how to keep ties with family and friends when you are 18 hours apart or sorting everything you own into categories like “must take,” “don’t remember ever buying/using,” and “the movers will break this so I should probably just sell it now.”

And that’s how it’s going. Not well to say the least.

I really believe that my family is going to love Guam, and I am excited to share every glossy, beautiful beach moment with you. However to dispel any confusion that our military life is all beaches and paradise, in this space I will record our entire adventure … the good, the bad, and the Overseas Medical Screening (it’s sooo ugly right now!).

I look forward to sharing it with you.