Engage. Educate. Encourage. EMPOWER.
If you’re like many military families, you may have PCS’d somewhere in the world this summer. Stress, extreme organization, and wondering what could possibly go wrong often go along with the process, but do you know what else a PCS means? The option to change up your TRICARE insurance coverage options.
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You left your duty station a week or more ago. You’ve had some cozy days in a hotel, and one morning you wake up deciding you are over the #HotelLife and really can’t wait to get into your new home.
And you’re in luck. It’s move-in day.
The movers call to say they’re ready to deliver your belongings. They can be at the address you gave them within the hour.
While you’re on the phone with the movers, you get a text from the on-post leasing office, confirming your appointment time to sign the paperwork and get the keys to your new home.
In lieu of the whole story (far too long a story to share on the blog), here are my top 5 tips for a smooth HHG delivery. (Yes, feel free to assume that these are things I wish I’d done):
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You’ve arrived at your new duty station. You settle into the hotel room you booked weeks ago, and by settle in, I mean you unpacked your suitcases and totes.
You filled the fridge with the few groceries you just picked up and gave the meager remains of the travel snacks a designated shelf.
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When I flew to Richmond, Virginia, in February, 2017, it was to help my new husband PCS from his AIT at Fort Lee.
It was like a vacation. Ten days at a Candlewood Suites, during which I slept, read books I’d had on my list for years, and binged Once Upon a Time, all while he out-processed.
In the evenings, we made dinner together, explored the surrounding area while playing Pokemon Go, and enjoyed being together after months apart.
Lovely. And at the time, I thought every PCS would be as dreamy.
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Your spouse comes home from work, tosses the car keys on the hook, squeezes the kids.
Then, turns to you and says, “Honey, I have good news and I have bad news. Which do you want first?”
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I look forward to holidays and celebrations, in large part because I know the holiday-specific meals are coming.
Or, I used to.
Military life has changed those meal traditions a bit. Often, my husband isn’t home, and honestly, he’s the better cook.
Now, six years into this life, I don’t mind. In fact, I’ve come to enjoy the spontaneity of holiday celebrations.
How did I, someone who loves to do certain things annually, come to grips with and come to appreciate that no two Valentine’s Days would be the same?
My pining for the past was redirected to appreciation for the present and eager anticipation for the future.
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You might have read that title and said something like, “Whoa. I don’t want to deep clean all year!”
Slow your scroll.
What I mean by “spring cleaning” is less about ridding our homes of physical things and more about letting go of negative thinking.
(However, if you’re like me and getting ready for a PCS, it could be a thing to consider!)
I don’t usually have New Year’s resolutions, and going into 2021, I don’t still have them.
Instead, I’m going into 2021 with an intention: positivity.
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Whew. Welcome, December. I’m not firmly in either the “It’s December already?” camp, nor the “Is it New Year’s yet?” one, but I know many people do have a propensity toward one direction.
Why? (Not a rhetorical question. I also ask this in a general sense. Not just this year.)
I have a theory. Are you ready?
It’s because, by the time November closes its doors and December’s swing open, we are exhausted.
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What comes to mind when you think of Veterans Day?
Is it a barbecue with friends and family?
Is it remembering to wear red, white, and blue and taking family photos?
For me, Veterans Day brings a few thoughts, each from a different time in my life.
The first, a Charleston County-wide essay contest for middle school students that begged the question, “Is Freedom Really Free?” The winner read her essay in front of hundreds of middle schoolers who just wanted to board the USS Yorktown to see all the “cool stuff,” as we called it.
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