Prep Work

Tis the season, the season of move prep. And not just for me: three quarters of our base friends are moving this summer too. Basically, all the cool kids are doing it.

This week I’ve looked at houses in Germany and Las Vegas (neither of them for us, for the record). I’ve been on the phone with the housing office at the base where we’re actually moving (they don’t love that we have three pets—sadly we didn’t consider them 8 years ago when we got Blythe). I’ve tried to figure out how late is too late to schedule a couple of doctor’s appointments before we head out. And I’ve started backwards planning our school year so that we’ll be done with the math books before the movers start packing us up, thereby crushing the kids’ dreams that the movers might accidentally-on-purpose lose said math books somewhere between here and Virginia.

In the process, I have already managed to unnecessarily send vet records that the Man had already forwarded (and already told me he’d forwarded), and since we still have 3.5 months of move prep to go, this informs me that I get to look forward to the multiple other idiotic choices that await.

Yay, moving brain.

{This will not be our view during the move. Well, it will be but not from the air.}

This summer, I was asked how soon after unpacking I start planning for the next move. Yep, you read that right. And with an every year to two years move schedule, that’s not an off base question. And the thing is, making that choice—how soon—does require some finesse.

If you don’t start soon enough, then you’re frazzled at move time. If you start too soon, then you miss valuable time being present where you are. It’s a catch 22.

There’s a give and take here that’s not always easy.

These days it feels like choosing between Pre-Move Purge Attempts and quality time with friends I may never get to see again. It’s the precarious balance of giving my best to my classes now while starting to research schooling options on the other side of the country. It’s knowing what needs to be cleaned ahead of time and what can wait until later.

So, yeah, I’ve been thinking about that question: how soon is too soon to start prepping? how late is too late?

And there’s no one right answer. Sadly. {That would be convenient.} And what works for one friend may not work for me (and vice versa). It’s showing up each day and asking: okay, Lord, what do I need to do today?

Maybe it will be cleaning the baseboards behind the washing machine. Maybe it will be taking a load of unneeded stuff to the Airman’s Attic. Maybe it will be showing up for class with the best lesson plan possible. Maybe it will be sitting in the sunshine with a friend and talking together while our kids race up and down the road on scooters like Evel Knievel. Maybe it will be sitting in bed with a book and a dog and letting myself rest, even if only for a few minutes.

All of this can be prep work. All of this can be being present (before we are present somewhere else).

But here’s the secret: the move will come whether we’re ready for it or not. And everything will get done to the extent that it gets done. I will show up at a new base at the end of June, and so long as the Man and the kids and the pets are there, it will be counted a successful move. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

So until then (and also after “then”), I’m just going to keep showing up…and let the chips fall where they may.

And this week, the chips meant that the base vet got multiple out of date shot records for all three of our pets. And that is also okay.

Also, in May, the chips are going to mean doubling up on math lessons. Just…you know…for the record.