What to do when you just don’t want to go.
I make no secret about my dislike for our current duty station, located in the Arizona desert. Raised in the south and living my entire life within 30 minutes of a coastline until we made this PCS move, the climate has been a very hard adjustment for my body.
But, as with so many aspects of military life, in order to survive we must, at the very least, develop some coping mechanisms to get through that stuff that stinks. That doesn’t mean we always have to put on a brave face or that we should tighten up our big girl/boy pants another notch. It means that we can do a few things to make it through with as little heartache and gray hair as possible.
1) FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE
You can say a lot about a location. You can say there are no good Chinese food places. You can say there is no water. You can say the landscape is ugly. Those things may all be true, according to your preferences. But you cannot say that all of the people at one location are horrible. So, get creative: Join groups on and off base, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself, take a chance on that party invite with a crazy neighbor. When the landscape, climate and location is hard to take, many times the people will more than make up for it, and make your time go by a little quicker.
2) TRAVEL AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
I realize this is hard for many people. But I will tell you that making travel a priorty for our family during this duty station has saved my sanity. If you don’t have the time or money to travel much, find another town that you can drive to in a few hours and find something there to enjoy. Even just a daytrip to another place can be helpful. Exploring the area around you can make you feel like your location has a purpose. Hey, we had to live in the desert for three years, but we saw the Grand Canyon, visted the West Coast and went to Vegas!
