Even though I market this page as a blog about marriage, motherhood, and the military, it seems like motherhood has been pretty much the star of the show. There hasn't been much to write about with regard to military life, because starting out it hasn't really been that different from civilian life.
Now, a year into our first *real* duty station (Keesler was just tech school, so it felt like an extension of college), we're starting to see some unique characteristics of this military life. Of course, there's the fact that we live in Hawaii, a place we likely would never have even been able to visit on our own dime, so thanks for that, USAF! But right now it's PCS season (for those not familiar with military terminology, PCS stands for Permananet Change of Station, meaning you leave for a new assignment elsewhere). And even though we're not the ones moving, several of our neighbors have left us in the past month or so. And it sucks. It seems like we barely had a chance to get sort of close with them before they had to pack up and leave. James made great friends with their kids, even having his first sleepover at one of their houses when Melody was born, and it makes me sad to think that he may not even remember them.
I know that this is how it will be for the next 18 or more years, so I'm trying to train myself to make friends quickly because there just isn't time to waste. I'm also trying to learn not to get too emotionally attached to those friends, which is a very odd scenario. It's lucky that in this day and age we have social media to help stay in touch with faraway family and friends. But my kids won't have social media for many more years, nor can they understand and accept the reality of friends always having to move away from each other.
Are you part of a military family? Please share in the comments how you cope with the constant shuffling and its effect on relationships.
Now, a year into our first *real* duty station (Keesler was just tech school, so it felt like an extension of college), we're starting to see some unique characteristics of this military life. Of course, there's the fact that we live in Hawaii, a place we likely would never have even been able to visit on our own dime, so thanks for that, USAF! But right now it's PCS season (for those not familiar with military terminology, PCS stands for Permananet Change of Station, meaning you leave for a new assignment elsewhere). And even though we're not the ones moving, several of our neighbors have left us in the past month or so. And it sucks. It seems like we barely had a chance to get sort of close with them before they had to pack up and leave. James made great friends with their kids, even having his first sleepover at one of their houses when Melody was born, and it makes me sad to think that he may not even remember them.
I know that this is how it will be for the next 18 or more years, so I'm trying to train myself to make friends quickly because there just isn't time to waste. I'm also trying to learn not to get too emotionally attached to those friends, which is a very odd scenario. It's lucky that in this day and age we have social media to help stay in touch with faraway family and friends. But my kids won't have social media for many more years, nor can they understand and accept the reality of friends always having to move away from each other.
Are you part of a military family? Please share in the comments how you cope with the constant shuffling and its effect on relationships.
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