Moving Stickers

One thing that all military kids have noticed is the faded moving stickers tucked under tables, behind dressers, and on the side of nightstands. To most people, they’re just old labels, but to us, they’re memorabilia of all our prior moves. The small blue or green stickers from when I moved to various places may look insignificant, but each marks a chapter of my life. 

Sometimes they’re barely noticeable, staying on the furniture for years, but other times, when cleaning my room, I’ll find one, recognizing it as a sticker from a previous move. Though these stickers just mark where furniture is supposed to go, they also mark where we were at a place in time. A sticker from Germany reminds me of the dream-like place I lived at during my early elementary years, or a sticker from Kentucky represents another chapter of my life with a different friend group and different school.

Moving so often means multiple things get broken, donated, or replaced. Houses change, rooms change, friends change, and a little bit of each place disappears every time. But when I see that moving sticker, I sort of get transported back. I remember the smell of cardboard and duct tape as a horde of strangers packed up my house, as well as the room where my nightstands used to live. The room where I had countless sleepovers and infinitely many memories made. And maybe that’s why I can’t bring myself to ever rip one of those little stickers off. They might be old and faded, but they are reminders of the places I’ve been. 

For military kids, memories aren’t always found in traditional snow globes or magnet souvenirs. Sometimes they hide under the dining table and aren’t found until that dining table gets moved, yet again.

 So, the next time you find one of those stickers, whether it be while rearranging your room randomly late at night, packing up your house, or getting rid of that old, beat-up dresser, let yourself sit there and remember, because those stickers can carry the biggest memories.