If someone had asked me to predict the places I would live while being a military spouse, I would have placed Alabama somewhere below Dorothy’s farm in Kansas and slightly above that of the “free thinking, American loving” country of North Korea. It’s not that I would have thought it impossible (because really, in this lifestyle I have learned that nothing can ever be entirely ruled out), but I would have thought it to be highly improbable. Once again that crazy Uncle Sam of mine is enjoying a hearty laugh at my lack of foresight!
So in a little over two weeks, I will (for the eighth time in almost eleven years) watch a large semi-trailer with all of our worldly possessions packed tightly within a few hundred cardboard boxes pull away from “our” driveway and head down the road and out of sight. We will then walk back into an empty house, pack the remainder of our possessions in our U-haul and minivan, take one last look around at the house we have called "home" for the last 22 months, reminisce a little, laugh a little, and maybe even cry a little. I will place the key on the kitchen counter, close the front door behind us, and move on down the road to the next chapter in our lives. It is a process that has become second nature to me, and is now becoming routine for The Crew as well. In true “military brat” form, Alabama will be the fourth state they have lived in… in as many years.
Our Captain (well Lt.Cmdr. actually) of this rag-tag crew will be embarking on the task of obtaining his Masters Degree (or two) from the Air War College out of Maxwell AFB as well as completing his JPME... also a requirement as one progresses thru a career as an officer in the Navy. All in all it is a really great deal for him to take a year as a “student” and have the Navy flip the bill for the degree(s). Not to mention a great deal for us as a family, as we will not have to forfeit him on the weekends, evenings, or longer seperations for an entire year! (Whose laughing now, eh Uncle Sam?)
We will keep you updated as the tides shift and we pull anchor for our new port-o-call. But for now, I will spend my time trying to find the bubble wrap and packing tape that I know I stashed around here somewhere!
Fair Winds!
