Spring is always a fun time as we see many of our friends come down on orders and prepare for their moves. Sometimes we are envious of them as they receive orders to dream locations, while other times we are thankful to be at our current location.
Unfortunately, as our friends are moving this cycle, we may be stuck and waiting until next year. We are in that phase of the PCS build up eagerly waiting for the news of our next PCS.
We know our days are numbered at our location. We get thrown into trying to make the most of it and checking off our bucket list items knowing that by this time next year we will be moving onto the next location. Extra play dates and lunch dates are made, vacations are planned, and we start the PCS purge, hopefully with enough time to get through everything. Extra care will be made to make the most of time with our friends, and to visit our favorite locations before they are no longer down the street for us to visit.
As our service members start talking of possibilities, we start researching and planning. Checking out schools, neighborhoods, and local amenities in the area to see how we can picture life there. A quick Facebook post and we find out where our nearest friends are, who has been there previously to give us the inside scoop on the area.
Of all the possibilities, we have quickly formed our own list of where we want to go.
But we do not know where we are going, yet.
We still must wait months for the list to even come out of possibilities. Then we will have to wait more weeks until we even receive notification of where we should be going. With all our friends moving now, we get the itch to begin the process ourselves.
This buildup of waiting for the process is for the birds. Just tell me where we are going so I can plan already!
Depending on where our service member falls on the PCS cycle, we know we could be waiting 6 months to find out where we may be going, and then another 4-6 months before we even have our home packed up. That is a long time for the buildup, the itch to do something, and anxiety to mount from all the current PCS stories. So instead of sitting idle, you begin the PCS purge. You start to clean out the closet, under the bed and the pile of things stashed in the attic. You know you will end up doing it again in the spring after you finally receive orders, but you have the need to start something now.
So, you clean. And you continue to wait until the day comes that you finally receive your orders, and you can join the fun of the PCS season. Until then, take a breath, relax, and hurry up and wait.