I’m PMS’ing for my upcoming PCS Move
Four Easy Steps to cope with Transitional Anxiety
Okay, well, I know the title is a bit vulgar, but it fits. We are moving, again, this summer and I can feel the stress building in my bones, swirling around in my head and uncertainty in my gut.
I’m in the “hurry up and wait” status. There is a boatload of stress coming my way and there is nothing I can do to about it but watch it wash over me like a Tsunami. To compound the pressure, this move might be a short notice overseas move, too. We were just told a few weeks ago that my husband would be moving again… not that I just PCS’d here eight months ago. I’m NOT ready to go.
PCSing means stress – no matter how many times you’ve been through it. Sure, we’ll joke about it and call it an adventure for resilient spouses – that’s a nice PR catch phrase to me. The truth is PCSing is an incredibly stressful time, taxing on your marriage, and disruptive to your children, not to mention wreaks havoc on your social and support network – nothing like a military spouse who is a serial friendship-dater.
It starts with the run of the mill “It’s never final until you have Orders stress” – which, by the way, is total BS. Even with Orders, things can change with just a phone call. While stationed in Alabama, we once bought a house in Texas, the place Orders stated we were moving. It was the Friday before the movers arrived on Monday and our Orders to Texas were cancelled. But wait, I have friend who was at the airport in Seattle on their way to Korea when their cell phone rings – their orders were cancelled 30 minutes before their flight. Yeah, it happens more than you think.
Oh, not me again. As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” So, I’ll just keep waiting for the proverbial “SNAP, left turn, just kidding, detour, other shoe drops” moment to happen.
