Army, Family, Jobs- Oh my!

There are some strange things happening in our household. One is...well, I can't say just yet. I'm afraid I'll jinx it. But it's good. Oh-so-good. And it's a big part of the reason I'm able to sit down and talk with you this fine afternoon.

The other?

Well, we've finally made a decision. This decision is a long time comin'. It has been weighing on our hearts and minds for too long. When I last wrote about this decision, we were leaning toward the opposite direction.

Have you had enough vague hint dropping?

Captain J is getting out of the Army. There, I said it. It doesn't make it any less real. But that's the very reason I haven't told you all yet because it seems like if I say it out loud then something will come up, causing it to not be the case anymore. Does that make sense? I know, it's silly.

We've weighed the pros and cons, our options, everything. It took us months to reach this decision and now that we have a peace has settled on our household despite our futures being up in the air. I know it may sound absurd to you to get out of a decent paying job that has plenty of job security with the civilian job market the way it is right now, but it's what we're doing.

Living on love. Living on faith. That's what we're going to do.

Of course we're not totally jumping in the civilian world and hoping for the best. J has already been perusing jobs across the country, trying to find one that will support his growing family. It is our hope that he will find a job that he enjoys, has room to advance in, and makes enough money so that I can continue to stay home with our child(ren). The deciding factor, afterall, was Baby K. Captain J just couldn't bear to leave him for a deployment or tour in the Middle East. When it was just me, it wasn't ideal for him to be gone but it was do-able. Now, he can't fathom not seeing his son for a whole year. Who can blame him really? That would break my heart, too. I don't know how military families do it.

And to be honest...

I never pictured myself having to be the one who stays home.

When I met Captain J, he had plans of getting out of the Army. Then, he changed his mind and suddenly I was an Army wife till death do us part. I was okay with it, slowly learning the ropes and accepting that my husband was going to be gone a lot over the course of his career. But accepting and dealing are two very different roads, aren't they?

Our deciding factor was family. I've always been big on the importance of family. The family unit can be one of the best and strongest relationships that you'll ever have in life. It's the basis for everything, in my opinion. Families make up our little towns- that make up larger counties (or parishes for you Louisiana folks!)-that make up the entire nation. But I digress, that is a different post for a different time. The point is: Family is important to us and that means we want to be around our families in Tennessee. More importantly, though- we want to be together- the three of us- without worrying when he'll be deployed again.

We don't have our hearts set on relocating to Tennessee because obviously we have to go where the jobs are, but we do hope to end up in the south some place a little closer to home.

Who knows? Maybe we won't be able to find that either. But we will be alright. God says that he'll never leave us (Hebrews 13:5) and that's comfort enough for me!

You may be wondering when these changes will take effect. Well, it's going to be awhile. Captain J will finish up his duty next February so that means we've got just over a year left to iron out the details. I'm excited and nervous. But I'm holding on to the scripture from Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

For now, I just need to breathe. If there's anything that the Army has taught me, it's that I can function without a set plan. I have learned to roll with the punches and that's what we're going to have to do again. Wish us luck! Send up some prayers! We're going to need them on our next journey back into the civilian world.

Love,

Mrs. K