We got confirmation last week that my husband is definitely going overseas this year. I am not feeling very prepared; it's hard to believe, but in the nine years of military service he has, Levi has never deployed! He's had various non-deployable jobs and all kinds of training and schools that just never left him available for deploying. It was bound to happen sometime, but I feel like a newbie PFC wife, not knowing at all what to expect.
It's happening relatively soon, so we're in a mad dash to get as much stuff in the house packed and ready for his departure as possible. The kids and I will stay in North Carolina to finish out N's school year (even maintaining a legal residence, homeschoolers have to transfer if you'll be out of state for more than a month). When his school year is up, we'll pack up the rest of the house and go to New York to live with family while we try to sell the house. I'm pretty confident it'll sell. It's in a good spot at the front of the neighborhood, we have done a lot of upgrades - including a gutted and completely redone kitchen, new roof, and new foundation, and we have a good realtor to work with. Levi has started clearing out the shed and I've started in the house, and we've agreed to just keep working, working, working. We'll take some time next month to have a little family vacation before he goes, which we're all looking forward to.
I tend to lay blame on Levi for how much stuff we have, but I know I am guilty, too. I am especially aware of this since I went through all our school and craft supplies this weekend and realized we have more than we can possibly use. I don't want to pack up all of the little crafty bits and baubles, and school stuff that always goes on sale like notebooks and pencils, so I bagged up a ton of stuff to take to a meeting with homeschoolers today at the park. Thankfully they picked it all over pretty well and took home at least 75% of what I was hoping to get rid of. The rest can hang out for a yard sale we'll have later. It's hard to let go of this stuff because I know someday I would use it, but I know we need to be realistic about what we want to deal with moving, and the reality is: not much! I'm just hoping Levi will really get on board with this, too. I'm not going to ask him to get rid of stuff he really uses or stuff he really loves, of course, but there are a lot of things I am willing to bet haven't seen the light of day in years. It's a process, I know, but we have limited time to do it!
We have SO much stuff, moving is such a hassle.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to permanently relocate to NY where your family is?
Big changes!!!
We'll be in NY while Levi is gone. The return is a little up in the air. Originally Levi's contract was due to expire a month or two after he returns, so we'd wait for our next duty station and move when we got orders. Now, however, Levi's contract has been extended an extra 3 months. That's a long time for him to be home and in NC, if we stayed in NY. It's not long enough to be eligible to get base housing if our house sells, though, so we'd have to find a place for short-term renting. Which is, of course, a whole other hassle! We'll cross that bridge when we get closer to it.
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