Andrew and Diane

As I was thinking about Andrew and Diane, a lot of things came to mind, but there’s one thing you just can’t get around. This family knows about moving.

 If you know what it’s like to arrive in a new city, set up your house, settle in, then three years later get orders to move away, then this story is for you. If you know what the letters PCS stand for, make yourself comfortable.  If you can look under your coffee table and see a green, an orange, or a blue sticker with a number on it, you’re gonna relate to this story.

Married 24 years, Andrew and Diane have moved together seventeen times.  Each of their fathers was in the Air Force, so they also moved every three years with their families before they even met.

Diane settled in North Carolina, so that became home to her until she and Andrew married. Andrew, on the other hand, has never lived anywhere more than three years in his life.  He did have one assignment for four years, but that is the longest he’s ever lived anywhere.

To some of you that’s normal and moving seventeen times is nothing. To others, you cannot imagine that, and you wonder what it’s like. Here’s what it’s like.

Every military family has a checklist in their mind, sort of like a grocery list. It’s familiar and mostly the same items are on it, but they vary a little according to where you’re living.  And that list is right there, in the back of their mind, ready to spring into action at the first sight of PCS orders.

PCS means Permanent Change of Station. In other words, you’re moving.  The term “PCS-ing” is a real term. Here it is, used in a conversation: “We just found out we’re PCS-ing this Spring.” “Really? We’re not PCS-ing until next Fall.”

So, now that the grammar lesson is over, let’s get back to that checklist.  Here’s a hint for you; you don’t want to mess with a military wife who just got orders to PCS.  Just leave her alone for a few days. She’s got a thousand things to do right now, as she begins checking things off that list. She’s in “moving-mode.”

Another interesting thing that happens during that time is that she and her husband become a very tight-two-person-tag team. They may be a very close family, but you tell them they have to move and they are instantly bonded even tighter with each other. Why? You ask.  Well…they realize that only the Lord knows what lies ahead in the coming months, so they pray, and trust in Him for that part, meanwhile, they’re busy running here and there, closing out their current assignment.

Here’s a typical breakfast exchange: Husband: “I’ll head by the hospital and pick up our files, then go by the dentist. After that I’ll run by the housing office, base legal, TMO and the BX.”  Wife: “Good, then I’ll go by the school, the post office, the bank, the vet and the cleaners to make sure we have all your uniforms.”

Can you see why they become so tight? They need each other right now. And no matter how many people are around them, or how many people they have come to know and love those past three years, they know it’s only going to be their family that gets in the car (or the cars) and drives away, leaving the familiar, and heading into the unknown….together…………..again.

That is a picture of what it’s like. And that’s a picture of Andrew and Diane.

A Texas boy, born in Wichita Falls, Andrew joined the Navy in his early 20’s. In 1984 he was assigned to a Fast Frigate out of Charleston, South Carolina, where he worked as a machinist-mate on the ships propulsion systems.

That same year, Diane, moved to the warm climate of Charleston with her roommate Nancy and a black lab named Sam.

Andrew and Diane met and got married. In less than thirty days after the wedding day, Andrew reported to school in Colorado for four months and Diane stayed behind to wait for him. When his training was finished, he called Diane with the news of their next assignment.

Their new home would be Jacksonville, Florida, (their first move together). That was the good news. The bad news was that he was assigned to a ship that was heading out to sea, to the Mediterranean, for the next six months.

For the next two years, Andrew and Diane saw each other less than 90 days. There is a phrase in the Navy that goes like this: “Navy means ships, and ships go to sea.” That’s a true statement. Andrew’s carrier left port on schedule for six months, as Andrew waved goodbye to Diane, who stood on the pier waving back to him, in tears. There was no email at that time, so the letters they wrote each other took three weeks or more to arrive. 

 While she was in Jacksonville, Diane carried a cassette tape player around and recorded herself talking to Andrew every day. She even took it with her in the car, telling him where she was, and what sections of the city she was passing by, so he could picture himself there. She often put the recorder beside the coffee pot when it was brewing so he could hear sounds of home.  When the tape was filled, she mailed it to him and began another. The time apart was misery for the couple so when it came time to re-enlist, Andrew chose not to, and left the Navy.

He and Diane moved to her home in N.C. and Andrew returned to school to complete his degree. In his junior year, they moved to Charlotte where he joined the AF-ROTC. Two years later, on May 10^th, he was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant, and the next day, graduated from the university and was an officer in the Air Force.

Andrew’s first assignment took him and Diane to California for a short time, then for the next seven years, they lived along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. During those years they moved three more times. By now, the couple had moved eight times together.

 Longing and praying for an assignment closer to home, they were excited to receive orders for Huntsville. Once back in the south, they were a short drive from each of their parents, so the location was ideal. Incidentally, there were three more moves during those three years.

 By now Andrew was a Major and ready to retire. Two assignments, six years, and three more moves later, his retirement date arrived. On a cold January morning in Nebraska, with the wind chill making the temperature 23 degrees below 0, the moving company packed their furniture for the last time, and Andrew and Diane drove back home to the south. This was their fourteenth move together.

Two more moves later, Andrew got a job in Madison, Alabama and soon after that; he and Diane bought their first home (17^th move).  One morning as Andrew was driving to work, he turned on Mt. Zion road to see where it led. He called Diane from his cell phone and told her there was a Baptist church right around the corner.

They visited that Sunday, and two weeks later MZBC became their church home.  Andrew soon began teaching Sunday School and God has truly gifted him as a teacher. Diane joined the Ladies Bible Studies, where she met a great group of ladies who are good friends. Then she joined the choir and met another group of talented people who sing with joy, and love to laugh.

Andrew and Diane are home. They are weary travelers. Still, after all the miles they’ve covered, and the distances they’ve travelled together, and out of all the people they’ve met, they enjoy each other’s company most of all.  In December, Andrew and Diane will celebrate their 24^th wedding anniversary.  They are, and have always been, each other’s best friend.

This little family will not get PCS orders to move in a year, but that checklist we talked about is still there, in the back of their minds. It will be interesting to see how they feel next year, when they realize they don’t have to move anymore.  They’ll probably do what most recently retired military families do at that time. They’ll re-arrange their furniture, because something deep inside says it’s time for a change. 

You have been reading about Andrew and Diane. You know them as:

 Brian Andrew… and Gwynn Diane…… Schneider.

 

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