It All started with a Beer.......or a House

The song "It all started with a beer" by Frankie Ballard was almost as if it was written for my husband and I. We met in a bar, with a beer, and the rest is history. Strange how after being together all these years can be summed up in a 3 minute song. It started with a beer, then babies, a wedding, multiple moves, multiple deployments, and now we are getting ready for our final military move.

While the beginning of our love story started with a beer, this part of our love story started with a house. We landed at our current duty station almost 9 years ago. Like many military wives, prior to moving I searched and searched for the right house and the right schools. There was one house that stood out to me in my never ending searches. I felt like we needed to be in THAT house. I'm not sure why but I really felt like we needed to live there. Turns out it was a great house for us to start our journey here. My husband met the then XO of the unit and the rest was history. Because he was selected for the unit he was able to later transition to the job he has now, AND because of that job we are able to go to Colorado. Throughout our military journey we have always said our last duty station would be Colorado. How cool is it that it seems that the stars aligned just right and we get to live that dream? I like to think that God planted that vision for us a long time ago and we now get to see it play out.

Well, this is it. Tonight is the last night that I will sleep in this house with all of our stuff. My children are all scattered about, so tonight it is just my husband, one of our boys, and myself sleeping here. How did we get here so fast? Like any military PCS I am eager to just have the movers pack it up and get it out of here. On the other hand I find my inner two year old screaming I DON'T WANT TO GO!!!!!! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!!



I sit in the quiet with stuff everywhere and think about the boys playing Nerf war running around the house wearing a path in the grass and in to the woods next to the house. I think about the countless deployments, phone calls, a deployment accident that led to surgery in a far off land, PTSD, healing, courage, laughter, and the strength it took to get through all of those trips. I think about the days sitting in our beautiful side yard filled with neighbors and friends for various events. I think about the countless hours that went in to making this place a home. And I think about the moment where I let my guard down because I thought we would be here a few more years.  This is our military life, a move was bound to happen.

Like any military move in the past, our journey here will end with a beer and begin in the next place with a search for the perfect house and school for the boys. So friends, enjoy the place you are in. Have a beer (or water, or juice, or whatever you like) with those dear military friends that you have the privilege of knowing. So tonight let's raise 'em up, to where we ended up..............