Onward!

As many of you know, my husband and I were the only family in the MCCC course that didn't know where we were PCS'ing to next.  We had an idea, but everything was dependent on some decisions husband had to make about his career; decisions that couldn't be made until recently. Believe me, it stressed me out to notonly not know where we were going next but that we would move with *very* short notice.

So we're officially moving to Ft. Bragg, and I am SO EXCITED! I've been hoping we'd be stationed there at one point in his career. I wanted the opportunity to live at one of the most historic and active military bases in the country.  Like Benning, I think Bragg will be an interesting place to live because of the units housed there.

We've already contacted a realtor and are pretty set on living in either a rental home or on post. So far we're seeing a lot good options in rental homes in the area, but as I learned with Lindsay, people do weird stuff with their houses. We're traveling up there this week to nail something down. If possible, we want to do a door-to-door move again.

But I have a bone to pick.

Why is it that so many military wives enjoy scaring other military wives about their upcoming moves? Like actually telling someone all the bad and nasty things about the new base and none of the good? It's crap, ladies. Sincerely.

And some women need a healthy dose of perspective, in my opinion.

If you tell me one base was "just terrible" because it only has one Target and it wasn't even a Super Target or there wasn't a Barnes and Noble, I'm going to have to roll my eyes or just tune out the rest of whatever you're about to say.

Listen, Ft. Polk is out in the middle of no where. If you wanted to buy a book, you would probably look up the Books-a-million about an hour away. There isn't even a public library, except for a small library on the base. There aren't any chain restaurants, so if you want that oh-so-special trip to Olive Garden with your husband, you'll probably consider a day trip to Lake Charles (an hour away) and then make a list of all the stores you might want to go to. Including Target. Because goodness knows if you wanted a new t-shirt or dress your nearby options are either a Wal-mart or the PX.

There are few amenities to amend Polk of it's location. But there *are some*, and when  I'm presented with a new wife who's about to move there, I try to give her all the good. Because, let's be honest, no one has probably ever told her or her husband one good thing about that base. I would be immensely short sighted to not be able to tell a person one good thing about a base I didn't love living at.

What might be surprising to many people is the good number of people who actually request to be sent back to Polk. Maybe it's the small town appeal, a really wonderful church community, a deep respect for the unit they were assigned to or something else. It might also surprise new comers that I've never met someone who was miserable living there.

But enough of me trying to prove my point about perspective.

So imagine my surprise when one wife told me she actually cried about her move to Ft. Bragg because of all the terrible things people told her about it! And what did she find? Most of it was over exaggerated drivel from wives who would either be miserable anywhere, or those who get some sick joy out of saying nasty things.

I'm sure Bragg has it's low points, but I can't imagine there's anything someone could tell me that would make me any less excited to move there. I see every move as an opportunity, and I don't just consider the city in which I'll live, but also the surrounding areas. What points of interest are closest? What do travel sites say about the area?

So let's all do each other a favor and try to not exacerbate the stresses of moving. Let's try to give good information. We're all entitled to our opinions of where we're told to live, but when one's opinions make another person miserable, perhaps it's better to keep them to yourself.

Edited to add:
Casey brought up a good point. Maybe, just like me being surprised by some of the things involved with pregnancy, some women are just trying to prepare others for things they didn't expect. Ladies, I'm not here to say that you guys should sugar coat everything and ignore the bad. But there's a difference between being helpful and being obnoxious.

Example: "Welcome to the asshole of Army bases! Ft. Polk has nothing around it! There's no shopping, no restaurants and the town is falling apart. My neighbors were so ghetto they even buried fish heads in the yard to catch crawfish. Just you wait. It's terrible."

or

"Yeah, there's not a whole lot to do at Ft. Polk, and the town could use some sprucing, but it's not the worst place to live. Your BAH is going to go really far, there's no wait for post housing and they have updated a lot of the homes. New Orleans is only 4 hours away, and there's this cute little town called Nachitoches that everyone loves to visit. It's where that movie Steel Magnolias was filmed! And even though there isn't much shopping in the nearby cities, you only have to travel about an hour to Lake Charles or Alexandria. Plus, right around the corner is Toledo Bend. It's a really beautiful state park if you guys like getting outdoors."

Do you see the difference between being productive and being unhelpful? Not everything is all bad. And certainly I want to be prepared for things but if you can't find one good thing to say about that post, I will probably figure you aren't the best source.