"The only thing that does not change is change itself." Whenever I get nervous about a new change in my life, I remember that motto. I have been gearing up for this move to Arizona for a while now and have honestly had plenty of time to process it. I have been fortunate because many military families have to move at the drop of a hat, or even have their orders changed at the last minute. I have known where we were moving, known approximately when, and known we would be living on base. But I did not know how the whole "living on base" thing worked. We filled out our application and submitted it as soon as we had orders. We were immediately number 3 or 4 on the housing wait list, and I think this was partially due to having an early summer move date, and partially because the base is tiny. I was worried that we would arrive and still not have a house. Would we stay in a hotel? Have to rent until something became available? What about all our stuff? I didn't want that to happen so I have had my fingers crossed that our number would move up.
I was also concerned about the housing itself. They are townhomes and I have always lived in a single family dwelling. We sometimes (well always) tend to be loud and noisy between kids, dogs, and me fussing at kids and dogs. I have been spoiled by our spacious home and yard here in North Carolina and am reluctant to give it up. I spent hours Googling the base and housing. I found floor plans and pictures and saw that we qualified for a 3 bedroom home, anywhere from 1,400-1,600 square feet. I knew we would have to downsize so we had a yard sale to reduce the amount of furniture and toys we would be moving. Additionally, thanks to a very informative Facebook group, I found out that there will not be room in the back yard for our trampoline. It looks like we will have to save it for our next move. The kids will be disappointed but I am hopeful the pools on base will make up for it.
A couple of days ago, James was on duty and called to let me know we received a housing offer via email. He had called the housing manager back and was told there were about 5 different homes available but we could have our pick between the two largest if we wanted. She sent James a map and he circled the homes and sent it to me along with the floor plans. I was so happy and surprised! I didn't know I could choose! We ended up choosing the larger house, which is 1,900 square feet, with three bedrooms plus a bonus room. It is on the end of the street and has a large grassy area behind it so the kids will have more room to play and I will have somewhere to walk the dogs. The bonus room is my favorite part though- Brady can have a space to play his video games and we will have room for a sleeper sofa for guests (if anyone will fly all the way out there to see us!) Needless to say, I feel very fortunate and knowing my new address will make the transition a lot easier on me.
Now we just have to do a few repairs on our NC house to get it ready for the renters. Next week we are getting the roof redone (ah, the joys of homeownership) and having yet another yard sale! The amount of "stuff" we have never ceases to amaze me!
Today I am waiting on my new washer and dryer, as our 14 year old washer finally kicked the bucket. Happy tax refund to me! We have a weekend of soccer and wine tasting ahead of us. I hope everyone has a joyous fun-filled weekend!
