The hardest PCS. A love letter to Del Rio.

My son asked me today if when we move to Oklahoma we have to leave our house. I, of course, told him yes but he started to get downhearted. I asked him if he loved this house. He replied “Yes, I love this house. Will someone else live here? I don’t want anyone else to live here.”

My sons heart will likely break when we leave Del Rio. This is his home. This is his house. His school. His teacher, Mrs. Post. His friends. His comfort and happiness has been HERE for most of his short 4.5 year life. And it’s been so sweet.

Thankfully children are resilient, but I do not want to blindly go into this move not taking the time to realize the impact this move, and probably all of our other moves will have on him.

We are excited for Oklahoma. We’re building a dream home on a few acres. I have a great job where I will learn more skills. We will have the zoo, the kids museum, a YMCA, more restaurants, Target! But. We won’t have Del Rio.

Del Rio, you’ve been good to us. Beyond good, you’ve been wonderful to us. You’ve brought us first and most importantly time with Roland, my husband. No deployments for 4 years has been a blessing we won’t soon forget. Del Rio, you brought us family time, our sweet babe Ainsley, a beautiful home we love, warm slow days at the park, hot summer days at the lake, delicious Mexican food, friends we’ll never forget and memories we will treasure forever.

We have a squadron of people we know by heart. We’ve been blessed with incredible commanders who care about us and our family. We’ve attended more Air Force functions than ever before; Halloween parties, Christmas parties, Air Force Balls (I forced these on my husband). 😉 My son loves his “airport”. Laughlin, we will miss you.

To the people we’ve met and will leave here in Del Rio: thank you. Thank you for loving us. From my sons base daycare teachers (Miss Mary, Renee you’re wonderful and he still talks about you!) to his off base teachers (Nede, Crystal, Rosie, Martha we love you!).

His school teacher this year has raised the bar so high I am truly not sure how anyone will reach it for years to come. The thought of her truly makes me teary eyed. He vaguely understands the idea of not returning to his school. My heart struggles very much with this conversation, as I know moving on from St. James and Mrs. Post will break his little heart.

Thank you to my daughters teachers! Thank you for loving my daughter (Miss Gabby, Rosa, Connie, Emily you’re a part of our little Ainsley forever!) Thank you for teaching her a million songs as well as her ABCs and 123s. She’s full of fire and you all fueled her and helped her grow. I’ll never be able to repay you.

To my friends and coworkers. You’ve been the truest and wonderful friends. I have incredible mentors, friends, teachers, bosses that I don’t know when I’ll see again but the impact you’ve made on me will be felt forever.

Del Rio, and Texas opened our eyes and schedules for family time. We bought a travel trailer and explored a LOT of Texas! We’ve swam in lakes, rivers, visited the hill country, and the Gulf! Our adventures and weekend trips are some of the sweetest memories.

My son will not be the only one mourning when we leave Del Rio. This town. This small town in what feels like the middle of nowhere sometimes, will be so acutely missed. This town welcomed us with open arms. Many spouses will tell you they don’t get the warm fuzzies when they find out Laughlin is their next base. But now that the end is in sight I will tell you there is so much we will miss about this place.

I’m going to miss the wonderful people. The people of this community are loving, kind and love their families fiercely. They understand that family comes first and its not just something they say. I will miss the warm January days, the early spring and (sometimes) even the HOT summers. I will miss the sweet old ladies patting my children’s heads at HEB. I will miss Patty’s campechanas and Ajillos tacos. I will miss Lake Amistad, and the creek. I will miss the genuine people and friendships they’ve offered, even knowing I’d be leaving someday.

I hope over the next four months I can support my kids and all the emotions that come with moving. I’m expecting a bigger range from AJ, than Ains; I’m not sure how much she truly understands at this point. I’ll be looking into resources and we plan to visit all our favorite places and take a Del Rio tour photo shoot with our amazing photographer Jessy with Haus of Londyn. We’ll let him feel all his feelings, because we’ll be feeling them too.

Military families. If you just found out you’re going to a base you didn’t want, or you found out in 8 weeks you’re going somewhere you’ve never even heard of. (Ha! This was us!) Pause, breathe. Those feelings of apprehension are valid. Even feelings of unhappiness are valid. But don’t let them keep you from joy and immersing yourself in the amazing opportunities around you. I would 100% do this assignment over again.

This assignment has brought me more personal growth than I ever expected. With what seemed like so little to do we became creative, we slowed down to enjoy one another. I hope that as we move to a big city with a lot to do we still enjoy slow afternoons at the park, look forward to BBQs with friends, bond with our coworkers like family and explore our surroundings.

Nothing lasts forever. What a blessing and a curse.