Boxes, boxes, and more boxes! "Will I ever get them all unpacked?" you wonder.
Those moving blues might not be just about all the boxes demanding your immediate attention. The true culprit could be your anxiety over fitting into a new military town. Hey, relax! As they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day," so neither will you feel at home in your new surroundings as soon as you arrive. Give yourself time to settle in! But if you're still feeling gloomy after those boxes are all unpacked, here are some pointers to help you adapt:
Get a sponsor. Most military installations offer a sponsorship program through their Relocation Offices. Sponsors provide information about your new duty station before you move and act as your welcome wagon when you arrive at your new location. Keep in mind that, depending on your military branch, the service member (not the spouse) must sign up for sponsorship. Other branches may automatically assign your family a sponsor, depending on the service member's rank.
Help the kids. Don't forget that your children are also trying to adjust to their new surroundings. Your Relocation Office can offer advice on how to talk with your children about moving. Allow them to sign up for their own personal sponsor too. Children will be matched with sponsors of the same gender and age group, as well as similar interests.
Surf the web. Visit SITES - Standard Installation Topic Exchange Service (http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/sites) - for information about your new duty station. SITES provides information on housing, community services, childcare and many other topics for military installations all around the world. Your new duty station may have its own website, as well.
Get your bearings. The Family Services Center on your installation offers maps and information about your new duty station, as well as the surrounding community. Most Relocation Offices also hold routine Newcomers' Briefings to inform families of programs and services available to them at that particular duty station.
Location, location, location! Okay, so your new military town isn't in the most desirable location. If you wound up in a town so remote that Wal-Mart is the most exciting place to spend your Friday evenings, take heart. Contact your local Chamber of Commerce, the state tourism board, or even your duty station's tickets and recreation office to discover what attractions you're missing.
Don't burn bridges. If you're sick and tired of moving so often that you have given up on making new friends altogether, reconsider. Do you really want to isolate yourself from others who share your same lifestyle? Making friends can help you find your own comfortable niche in a new community.
Start fresh. Making a move can mean making a job change. Most military installations offer a family member employment program through their family centers/community services offices. Services include civilian job postings as well as government job listings (including Federal jobs, AAFES/NEX employment, and opportunities with Non-appropriated Funds/MWR) and job search assistance (such as computer skills training, individual career counseling, job search classes, resume writing classes, and interview workshops) for family members.
Stock up. Still waiting on your household goods to arrive? Most Relocation Offices provide a "lending closet" that stocks the basic essentials to tide you over until the moving truck shows up. Items such as dishes, pots and pans, irons, coffee makers, and folding tables and chairs are examples of what you can borrow for free.
Welcome mat. Worse yet, you're waiting for military quarters? Whether you're living at the Guest House or at the local Holiday Inn, let's face it; you're not getting warm fuzzies about your current PCS. This can postpone getting settled into your new community, as well as add to your moving blues. Make this time a relaxing vacation between "moving out" and "moving in." After all, once your household goods arrive there won't be time to rest!
Acclimate. If you're overseas, stop by your Relocation Office and pick up videos or language tapes, attend an Overseas Spouse Briefing and ask the millions of questions you are bound to have. This will help by acclimating you to the customs and cultures of a foreign country and easing your concerns. If you are a spouse new to the United States, you will want to attend the U.S. Citizenship classes and study related books at the Relocation Office.
Wedded bliss. If you are adapting to the military community as a new military spouse, you likely are experiencing a double whammy. Again, the Family Services Center on your military installation is there to help you with this transition. Classes for new spouses are continuously offered in order to introduce newlyweds to the world of military life. Give yourself time to learn the ropes of military life within your new community. Soon you'll find yourself speaking in acronyms and giving other spouses directions to the commissary!
Adapting to your new surroundings doesn't have to be a source of stress during your next PCS. Take time to prepare before the move, and give yourself time to get settled into your new military town after you arrive. But above all, have a positive attitude. Those moving blues will be gone before the garbage truck picks up all your empty boxes!
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Sonya Murdock has been an Army wife for seven years. A former columnist for the Fayetteville Observer-Times, Sonya has written on all things military from an Army wife's point of view.