In honor of Veteran’s Day, we have another great post from our Military Mom, Michele!  She’s here to give a little of the humor in one of the biggest aspects of being a military family – moving!

Written by Michele

Not too long ago, my family PCS’d (the military acronym for moving…..because every action has an acronym) from El Paso, Texas to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. At the time we had one 4 year old, a 6 year old, two dogs and a couple of Beta fish.

We’ve moved a few times and we’ve got it down.  We have a process to moving

• downsizing
• packing
• vehicle checks (cars and trailer)

Marching Orders

My husband and I both have our responsibilities. The kids and I pack the toys and clothes, while my husband Lucas packs the garage and other items we would like to include in the trailer. We like to do what is called a “half-dity”. This is where a family moves a portion of their belongings and the Military packs and delivers the rest.

My husband is very passionate about his job in the Army, a superb planner, and so much more. And Lucas knows his way around a car. Every move he’s responsible for tending to the vehicles. He changes the oil, checks the wear and tear of the tires, and makes sure the windshield wipers are good to go. I’m not sure what else you check for but I can only assume he checks them. It’s his thing.

I’ve got the kids and the beta fish.  Because, why just move?  Let’s move with fish, too.  I’m squared away.  For the road we have toys, coloring books, movies, food and drink.  We’re set and I’m hoping to avoid the inevitable, “are we there yet”, “how many more hours”, etc, after the first 10 minutes.  And every subsequent 10 minutes.  Of a 15 hour trip.

Soon it is the day before the trip and we have finished loading the trailer. It looks overly packed to me. This is my first feeling that this might not be the easiest move.  But I stay focused on my responsibilities.

Moving Day

It is finally moving day and everyone is excited to head out and start our new chapter in Kansas. We are loaded up and on the road. Not even fifteen minutes into the trip (and not even an, “are we there yet”) I see little pieces of garbage or something rubbery hitting up against my car. There are a few trucks on the road so I figured maybe one of them blew a tire. Then I look again and it’s the trailer’s tire.  You know, the trailer that is carrying half of our belongings that I’m sure my super-planner husband did a full vehicle check on.

I immediately call Lucas to tell him I think he blew a tire on the trailer. We get to the weight station which was down the road. Sure enough we have a flat and we are only twenty minutes into the trip.  Of a 15 hour trip.

My mind is blown because I’m thinking how on earth this could have happened?

Living Dangerously

Here’s the story: my awesome husband who plans and checks everything, completed his own tire assessment of the tires two weeks prior and saw they were weathered/aged. This might be something I would consider replacing in advance of a 15 hour road trip.  Would you consider replacing in advance of a 15 hour road trip?  Show of hands.  If you had weathered/aged tires, would you replace them before a 15 hour road trip?

If you did, you wouldn’t be my husband, trying to save a buck.

He deemed the tires high risk and still took a gamble. Twenty minutes in to our trip and we are already deviating, looking for a place that can replace the trailers’ tires. The kids and I are now  frustrated. We are driving in circles. One kid is like are “we there yet” and I’m like we are still in El Paso we haven’t gone anywhere to get “there” yet. We find a place and it’s going to take over an hour to fix. We then head to lunch in my car. The call comes in and the trailer is fixed.

When Flat Tires Aren’t Enough

Are we on our way?  Ha ha!  The trailer is too heavy.

WHAT???? Yes, the trailer is now too heavy. We have to find a storage place to unpack the trailer. We are unpacking our stuff in the Texas heat, before we’ve even left the state.   Did I mention the two beta fish boiling in the car?  The girls are in the car seats yelling my name and asking why we are unpacking the trailer. I’m throwing ice cubes in the bowl to keep the fish alive.  The girls are trying to escape the car.  At this point I want to laugh at the situation. How does this happen?

There’s No Place Like Home

Finally, at almost midnight the next day, we make it to our new house in Kansas.  I let Lucas lead the charge to get in to the house because surely the key is under the mat.  But why would this be easy?  After an exhaustive search (because everything at this point is exhausting) of the grounds to find the key, turns out when Lucas turns the back door knob, the door is open!  The highlight?  The 6-pack of beer in the fridge for us.  I guess the property manager knew we would need it.

We are a military family and we travel a lot. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tell us your story about moving!  Comment below or continue the conversation on the Bleeping Motherhood facebook page.