In the Rear View Mirror
"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." ~Ivy Baker Priest
The first time I left a post with Vic was after he graduated from West Point and he was driving away from his home of four years to move on to his career in the military. His truck was loaded up with all of his personal items and my suitcase to fly home. As we drove off post, he paused to take a picture of the front gate in his rear view mirror. After four years of the Academy, he was so thrilled to bid West Point adieu.
Of our seven + moves, not all have been as thrilling. There were mixed emotions when driving away from posts where babies were born, maturity gained, homes bought and sold, jobs earned and left behind, and friends and memories made. All of the places where we have lived have become the hallowed ground of the family we are now. When we drove away from our posts, I knew the likelihood of returning was slim. I learned really early on to take photos of everything and to put the pictures of our life in scrapbooks so we could reminisce about those times. When it came to the end of each tour at each place it became clear that the time we had there would be an important part of all that we are. That is where the mixed emotions come in; the end of a chapter that went well, the beginning of the uncertainty of what lies ahead, the sorrow for leaving someplace I may never see again and the acknowledgment that time goes by quickly.
I am unsure which move it was that we coined a phrase, but our family motto for PCS time (Permanent change of station) is "The most important things are what we leave with in the car" This works for airplanes too. We have driven away from every post with our children, dog, and assorted items of importance and focused solely on those things. As for the assorted Earthly goods that have packed up and shipped out in moving truck or freight crate they are dispensable. We keep our eyes on the things that matter most, and worry little about the rest. The perspective needs to be narrowed to that which is important, that which is right in front of me, my family and our new beginning.
The first time I left a post with Vic was after he graduated from West Point and he was driving away from his home of four years to move on to his career in the military. His truck was loaded up with all of his personal items and my suitcase to fly home. As we drove off post, he paused to take a picture of the front gate in his rear view mirror. After four years of the Academy, he was so thrilled to bid West Point adieu.
Of our seven + moves, not all have been as thrilling. There were mixed emotions when driving away from posts where babies were born, maturity gained, homes bought and sold, jobs earned and left behind, and friends and memories made. All of the places where we have lived have become the hallowed ground of the family we are now. When we drove away from our posts, I knew the likelihood of returning was slim. I learned really early on to take photos of everything and to put the pictures of our life in scrapbooks so we could reminisce about those times. When it came to the end of each tour at each place it became clear that the time we had there would be an important part of all that we are. That is where the mixed emotions come in; the end of a chapter that went well, the beginning of the uncertainty of what lies ahead, the sorrow for leaving someplace I may never see again and the acknowledgment that time goes by quickly.
I am unsure which move it was that we coined a phrase, but our family motto for PCS time (Permanent change of station) is "The most important things are what we leave with in the car" This works for airplanes too. We have driven away from every post with our children, dog, and assorted items of importance and focused solely on those things. As for the assorted Earthly goods that have packed up and shipped out in moving truck or freight crate they are dispensable. We keep our eyes on the things that matter most, and worry little about the rest. The perspective needs to be narrowed to that which is important, that which is right in front of me, my family and our new beginning.
Comments