We are busy, an update

This is the 3rd post for the day, but I just realized that in all the chaos of the past couple of weeks I haven't kept the blog up to date about our progress toward Chris' homecoming and our upcoming move.

Chris is coming home mid March instead of mid April, the actual date in March has gotten changed a little, but I think that bothers Chris way more than it bothers me. We feel pretty firm about the current date, but have no idea what time of day he'll get to Minot, probably midnight. I haven't checked with Chris if I'm allowed to release the date yet, so I'll let everyone know when I can.

Also, with Chris coming home early we were unsure if the AF would let us move early or if Chris would have to do a temp job in Minot before we would leave in May. However, about two weeks ago the AF decided that Chris could PCS (permanent change of station) early. So, I used my power of attorney, which was kinda neat, and scheduled our move. Our pack out dates are April 13-15.

For those of you who don't know, the military pays for movers to come and pack up everything into boxes and then ship our stuff. We just have to separate out the things that are too precious to have shipped (too priceless to be replaced) and too dangerous to ship (flammable liquids). They estimate it will take two days to pack our house and another to load all the boxes and furniture into a moving truck. After all the stuff is out of the house we are responsible for cleaning the house to whatever standard the family housing office tells us is necessary. After the house passes inspection we can leave Minot and drive the car (packed with all the stuff we can't ship, like Chris' wine!) to California.

We only have one car right now, so we talked it over with the Ewing family and David and I are going to fly to California and hang out in Placerville with Lisa while Jesse is going to fly to Minot and drive the car back to California with Chris. We decided that between David's age and his lung health it would be better for him to not be in the house while it is being cleaned, so David and I are leaving the morning of April 16th and Chris and Jesse will follow us in the car on April 18th.

There's a lot of other details that still need to get worked out. Booking a place for us to stay when all our own furniture is packed, scheduling with Minot housing our pre-inspection and inspection, working out with Vandenberg housing when we can get into base housing there, ... But just having a date for the move settles my mind.

David and I have been busy in Minot since we got home about three weeks ago. I've had to go to a lot of meetings to step down out of the leadership positions I hold and update those who will be taking over the reins. A friend of Chris', another missilier, died and I tried to help with the memorial service as much as I could. Our good friends, the Carmeans, PCS'd and I tried to open my home to them as much as I could while they were in the moving process.

Also, on Valentine's Day the Catholic chapel community hosted a progressive dinner on my street and I hosted the dessert stop in our home. I had, I think, about 24 adults crammed into our small main floor (we have one medium sized living area that is both our living room and dining room), including about 6 men hanging out in the kitchen. Other people brought desserts, but I still made 3 and provided the drinks and serving wear. I was the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day while Chris wasn't home. I was too busy and loved to be lonely.

Also, this week, I had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Deborah Mullen, the wife of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. So, basically the most senior spouse in the entire USA military. There were 11 Minot AFB spouses and her in the room and we spoke with her about Minot for about 30 minutes. It was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was humbled and grateful to be chosen to represent our base. AND I didn't say anything stupid, so I'd say overall it was an incredible experience. I've told Chris that his goal now is to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs so that I can be like Mrs. Mullen.

And then last night I hosted the moms of our base Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) program to an evening of bunko and socializing without our children at our house. I think we had about 15 moms. It started at 6:30pm and I think the last moms left about 10:30pm. We had a lot of fun.

It's a time of "lasts" too. I just attended my last Minot Officers Spouses Club social and this week I'll go to my last 741st MS spouses social. This is the first time I've really had to say good-bye to a place we've lived and put down roots and it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled we are leaving, but some of the worst aspects of this base and this job have made this the best community. Because we are so geographically isolated and have to rely on each other, we do just that. This community has supported us, comforted us, and loved us for four years and I will miss it.

And if you just read this entire blog you deserve a gold star.