PCS

You know it well, friends. Your orders are cut. Your new life is just around the corner. You have only a few short months until you, your spouse, and your family pack up your current life and unpack it somewhere...

"Because getting there is half the fun. You know that." -- Clark W. Griswold (National Lampoon's Vacation) Sometimes I feel like this quote from one of my favorite movies should really say, "Getting there is half the work ..." When it...

I have an unhealthy obsession with podcasts. I am a stay-at-home parent whose only companion during the day is a 2.5-year-old. Although I am very excited to hear the results of her "speriments," which consist of putting my crap...

You might have noticed the annual signs. When moving trucks start appearing on military bases and neighborhoods around the world, those trucks signify one chapter closing and another about to begin: PCS season.  If your PCS is right around the...

I grew up experiencing two different cultures. My mom is American and has English and German origins. My dad is originally Palestinian, but his family migrated to Egypt and then to Saudi Arabia. I was born in the United...

It's that time of year again. We know it well.  It starts around mid-May and goes through late summer. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Season. My Facebook Newsfeed is flooded with posts and pictures of my military friends who...

It was my most difficult goodbye. We spent a month leaving jobs and schools; friends and people who had became family; favorite places and foods. I ate more currywurst und pommes and drank more espresso doppio and Hefeweizen than...

My daughter will be turning eight next month. She recently asked me if we would be moving again since her birthday is coming up. We’re not moving but let me explain why she thought we might be.    Two out of...

Vicenza, Italy has long been considered one of the Army’s most coveted duty stations. As soon as I realized I would be married to a U.S. service member, I started dreaming about getting stationed in Italy. Many people have...

Moving away from your tribe is arguably the hardest part of a military permanent change of station (PCS). You spend between two and five years (give or take a year or two) building relationships, finding those people who are...

Everyone has a "dream base". That one base that seems so unrealistic actually to get, but it is everything you want. For us it was Hawaii. Of course, my husband's career field gave us about a .001% chance of getting the...

This is part one of a series on fun and affordable things to do in Hawaii. This series also aims to highlight the need to find the positives in every assignment, even if it is not in paradise.  :)   Hawaii:...