Move is a Four Letter Word

There is this AFN Info Spot explaining the correct way to happily PCS. It goes something like this . . . "This is how a family looks during a successful PCS . . . " And, inevitably the "family" is a bunch of primped up actors/actresses sporting creased khakis & perfectly pressed button-down shirts. They are totally beaming as they have remembered to hand-carry their passports & they look very proud of the TEN boxes total that are neatly packed up & ready to crate.

That's nice. But, totally unrealistic.

My moving day attire consists of mostly clean sweats, no make-up & dirty hair that should have had the color touched up yesterday. Did I shower? No, I did not. Because the movers came before I was ready (again) & I refuse to be naked (even in the shower in a locked bathroom) with 4 strange men in the Haus.

Man is more of a morning person than I & did manage to shower & put on real clothes. This is him totally smirking faking a smile as he just now starts pinging stops to think about what doesn't need to be packed today.

Laze-E is also clean & dressed. Yes, school actually happened today, although the buses were delayed by 2 hours. No, that isn't a string hanging from her head. For those of you who are uninitiated, it's the cord for her iPod.

MiniMe was also squeaky clean and couldn't wait to go to school. Christmas Break with nothing to do was not her friend. This is what the office looked like shortly before Dude Who Spoke Very Little English started packing at breakneck speed. We told him to leave the TV up until tomorrow.

But, that Little English part got in the way & the TV & DVD player got packed. And I had to physically wrestle him for the AFN satellite decoder that stays here. This way other people in Belgium can also enjoy AFN PCS make-believe crap in lieu of commercials.


Did we remember to hand-carry our passports? Yes, we did. This ain't our first rodeo, folks.

Are we jumping through hoops & PCStressing? Yes, we are.

Last week the Moving Office repeatedly told us that the moving company would only pack-out 4000 lbs a day. That's it.

So, I ran through the Haus, tagged about 1/3 of our stuff to be packed today & thought nothing of not having our suitcases ready to rock-n-roll.

But, at 0830 this morning, 4 very enthusiastic packers showed up raring to go. They were motivated, very nice & probably the best packers we've had. By 0850, my entryway looked like this:

Kitchen Packer Dude immediately got to work as I emptied out the cabinets for him. Gone were the visions I had of actually cooking dinner tonight. And, all I can say is that it's about damn time!

Yes, my friends, the Hamburger Helper got packed up and is ready for it's next adventure in Virginia. Move over, Flat Stanley, you've got nothing on my Betty Crocker.

We did manage to spare the living room so that we can watch TV tonight. Maybe we can catch that "How to Perfectly PCS" spot.

And laugh.

Our butts off.

I know you are wondering how I am dealing with all the PCStress. Not bad considering I never did make a run to Amsterdam the clinic to score some Xanax.

OK, so I finished off the Brandy. It's not like they were going to ship it for me anyway.

Waste not, stress not. That's been my motto for the day.

And just for the record, the Peach Vodka is better mixed with OJ than Coke Zero. Although, if you are a fan of Vodka, BeachMum (Hi, Laura) swears by Vanilla Vodka & Diet Coke. Just something to keep in mind when are failing miserably to have a Kodak Moment. But remember, be careful with the wheat bread whiskey. SubourbonHausFrau (Hi, Stacey) still serves as a glowing example of what not to do.

But, you know what has been the absolute best part of my day? I ventured down into the basement at lunchtime to be greeted by this:

Now that's what I'm talking about. One packer, three hours & wah-la! My PCStress level just went way down.

But . . .

Gosh, we did remember to grab the passports out of the safe . . .

Didn't we?