If we decide to “geobach” so the kids can finish school, how will that affect our marriage? Will I be able to find work in my field? If the kids change schools, will they struggle with a new curriculum, or will they have to sit through material they’ve already learned? Will they fit in? How can I make sure they won’t experience social isolation?ĭuring the many PCS moves our family endured, I often worked myself into a tizzy over the unknowns about our family’s next duty station and our next home. “I don’t care if we live in a cardboard box under an overpass, just tell me where we’ll live, and I’ll plan where to hang the pictures,” I’ve said often over the years.Īll joking aside, there are legitimate unknowns that military families face every time they move. I needed something solid, an anchor of information to plan our family’s life around. Needless to say, military moves really stressed me out because I didn’t deal well with unknowns. The spouses who incessantly scribble lists titled “Stuff I Gotta Do,” “Movies I Wanna Watch on Netflix,” “Household Projects I Never Quite Finished,” “Weight Loss Goals I’ve Been Working on Since Ninth Grade,” “Meals That the Kids Won’t Hate,” and “Embarrassing Questions to Ask the Doctor.” Unlike most level-headed military spouses, I’m one of those people who has never dealt well with unknowns during the 28 years when my Navy husband was active duty. Since military orders are issued only three to six months before report dates, military families are given very little time to make a long list of life-altering decisions about unknowns - housing choices, school placement, neighborhood demographics, local economy, employment options, etc. These are the questions that bombard even the most level-headed military spouse’s mind, especially during the summer months when about 60 percent of the 430,000 annual Permanent Change of Station, or “PCS moves,” take place. “What’s next? When will we move? Where will we live? Will I find a job? Where will the kids go to school? Will we make good friends? Will we be happy there?”