One of the more frequent thoughts I’ve had as we prepped for the three shipments that were cleared out last week and the move in general is some derivative of “I swear I’m not crazy.” Anyone who’s done a PCS (permanent change of station) move probably knows what I’m talking about to some degree.
Diplomatic moves are a strange phenomenon to anyone who’s not familiar with them. Moving around the country is chaotic and stressful in it’s own right. Moving abroad is a completely different animal. It’s crazy, but then you have the added bonus of constantly explaining to people who aren’t your family members or friends what’s happening.
For your enjoyment, I’ve compiled a list of times I’ve wanted to yell “I swear I’m not crazy!” at people these past few weeks. Although I do realize yelling at them wouldn’t have helped my case.
- When you go to the grocery store to stock up on consumables and it looks like you are about to make the most unappetizing party food on the planet. Yes I did mean to buy 15 cans of black beans, six jars of almond butter, four jugs of vinegar, and enough salsa to to feed an army. Is that weird?
- When you have to explain to the credit card company at least twice that yes, the outrageous purchase from Safeway was actually me. So was the PetSmart one. Home Depot too. And Target. And the other Safeway.
- When you go to The Burger Joint to get food for the movers and say “hi, I’d like 20 burgers with the works, please…. No this isn’t for the office…or a party.”
- When you go to your favorite restaurants for the last time and order approximately half the menu.
- When your mattress is gone, so you check into a hotel about two miles from home and the very kind concierge asks you “so, what brings you to Annapolis?” Uh, well, my apartment for starters…. (Added bonus: when you show up with a small backpack with just PJs since all you’re doing is sleeping here, for a five day stay.)
- When you sell both your cars on Craigslist.
Ok. So maybe I am crazy.
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