Dear Moving Company

Dear Moving Company,

Although I am very grateful for your service and even more grateful that the Army pays for your service, I have a few helpful hints that you might want to consider in the future.

1) Although very valuable in the eyes of my five year old, Thomas the Train and his friends do not have to be individually wrapped and placed in a box. It took me 15 minutes to unwrap all 57 trains. They could have been thrown into a box with no complaint from me, and we would have easily saved the lives of multiple trees with all of the packing paper you used.

2) I admit that my OCD with organization is over the top, and for this reason I separated EACH Star Wars figurine, each Super Hero, each Bakugan, each Pokemon, each car..., each of every toy my boys own prior to your arrival and ensured that each toy was placed in the appropriate and labeled plastic bin. I almost fainted when I found that you dumped the bins and wrapped the plastic toys. Really? Plastic won't break. I know this as a proven fact because if my 7 and 5 year olds haven't already broken them, then they are safe from destruction.

3) Please close all spices before packing them into your five layers of packing paper. Nothing says welcome like a shower of seasoned salt or a layer of pork rub in my hair because the tops were not secure when we unwrapped your masterpiece of paper with a touch of seasoning.

4) When you take my boys' beds apart, please place all nuts and bolts into a baggie and attach to the bedframe. Because after sleeping on the floor for four nights, nothing is more appealing than a bed. But a broken bed? Not so much.

5) Don't jack up my husband's bike. I know he only rides it when the temp is 76 degrees and the sun is at a 43.4 degree angle in the sky, but he likes the bike.

In your defense, Mr. Household Goods Packer, after 36 hours, we have all 263 boxes unpacked and organized with only three damaged items. I guess we did need all of that packing paper, just not for Thomas trains.

Until our next move. Please make it no more than 24 months from today.

Peach Orchards and Low Country Cookin'

We are trading opera for country music,
We are swapping vineyards for peach orchards,
We are, with some hesitation, saying good-bye to European history and hello to the home of the Confederacy, and
We are giving up wine (well, Venetian wine) and home-made pasta for sweet tea and low country cookin'.

Yes, we chose Georgia. I know you're shocked because I know most people assumed we would go with Germany. However, neither of us looked forward to downsizing our house to fit into a 1200 square foot apartment, ordering internet service with Duetch Telecom (my whole body convulses with just the thought of the service), or living thousands of miles from a Target.

I was in complete support of the move to Fort Stewart, Georgia because it provides year around warm weather, quick access to the beach, a housing market that we can afford, and a short term stint living in the deep South. That was until I went to the bank today. I ran into a woman, an Army spouse, that I had never met before. The inevitable PCS move was broached and when I said, with a smile on my face I might add, that we were moving to Hinesville, Georgia, she said without any hesitation, "Oh I hated that place! You won't get out of there fast enough."

And I said in a very polite way, "Please don't tell me that. I really want to make this move a good one." And she proceeded to say, "No, I am telling you. It is that bad. Did you know the town doesn't even have a Target?"

It was at this point that I was wondering if I should serve Shock Top or a bottle of port when I broke the news to Wes that I wanted to change my mind...again.

However, I am convinced that I can be happy anywhere; I will be happier if there is a Target within a five minute drive and if we find a house with a pool. Did I mention the humidity is really uncomfortable there?

Well, look at me all worked up about a Target and a pool when we are still dependent on the Army to get us there. I need to remember what happened to us just last week and know that it can all change again next week. Until then I will welcome the thought of peach orchards and low country cookin'.