When emails pile up, financial tasks need to be done, last minute baby preps are abundant, and my
Scentsy business begs to be organized, the first thing to go was blogging. It's only been a few days, but I missed this space and I'm happy to be back with pretty good news.
If you've been following along here long enough, you know that Captain J is finishing up his service to the Army in January. We've been very nervous yet excited for this new curve in our lives. He spent much time deliberating whether this was the right decision for our family, but ultimately he knew that he didn't want to spend a year away from his sweet son if he didn't have to. That was the deciding factor. He wanted out. I supported this decision and eagerly began daydreaming of moving back to East Tennessee where so many of my friends are and where most of my family resides. We knew we wanted to be close as we've spent all of our relationship away from the ones we love. Alaska--Georgia--Louisiana-- it was time to go home.
Meanwhile, J partnered with a head hunter group to try to get a leg up when it comes to finding a job post Army. This was the beginning of our plans starting to shift. The further he got into the process, the more he became aware what he wants to do, what motivates him, and where we may (or may not) end up. There were slim pickin's in Tennessee as you might imagine. I was actually pretty upset about this until very recently. I wanted to go home! Watch my nephews and niece grow up! Hang with my old pals. Drop the kids off with their grandparents. Spend a Thanksgiving in
good ole Loudon for a change.
A couple weeks ago, Captain J nervously set out to a hiring conference unsure of what to expect. If I may brag on my husband for a minute, let me say that I'm so very proud of him. It must be difficult to shift from Infantry Officer to a business mindset after so many years of service in the Army. Thus far, he has excelled at what he has set out to do. He's currently finishing up an MBA, keeping up with his duties at work and home, and he took a few days off to fly all over the country interviewing and kickin' butt at it. We were blessed to have many opportunities, many second and third interviews! After much deliberation, he narrowed his options down to three offers...
none of which were anywhere near "home."
The nearest was Northern Atlanta, but the work hours were depressing to say the least. In addition, we had already lived near there back when we were stationed at Ft. Benning for MCCC. We didn't love the area, but it was nice to be within driving distance of our hometowns. Still, it was a fiasco just trying to get home. It was about a four hour drive and that was before we had kids. That margin of time would only grow. We imagined being pretty close to home but never actually being able to go home due to the long work hours J was facing. Finally, we were swayed by insanely cheap real estate in...
Sunny Florida!
I'm kidding, sort of. J, of course, didn't choose his next job because of real estate there. Still, we have weighed our options and landed on the job that will take us to the Jacksonville area. I'll be honest- at first I was pretty sad. I'm a country mouse at heart. I have never had much of a desire to live in a big city. I feel most at home in the mountains and I desperately wanted four seasons. Mostly, I wanted K & A to know their family well. Over the past week, however, I've begun to accept and be happy about this change. J told me he wasn't too fond of living too close to where he grew up and I understand why he feels that way. Anyway, I'm beginning to picture our lives as a family of four in a warm climate with palm trees and plenty of opportunity to soak up some rays on my soon-to-be toned body again (Ok, perhaps I'm slightly delusional still). The point is, I can finally brush aside the dark clouds surrounding my mind and focus on the fact that this is a blessing. We'll get back to TN eventually, but until then-
God has provided for us yet again. With so many people struggling in this lowly economy, we worried it might be difficult to find work. Not only did J have multiple job offers, but I also truly believe now that God wants us to be in Northern Florida. We are excited about finding a church family there that is closer to what we are looking for from a congregation. We look forward to finding a reliable sitter so that we can finally start dating each other again. I've googled Mom and Me groups in the area so K can have that socialization that is ever important at this age. We're looking forward to moving on to what will be our fourth state in three years. Hopefully, we can stay there a bit longer than we've been averaging at previous duty stations! We're ready to have a home.
I hope that we make Florida home to us. I know it's all about perspective and for better or worse, the Cap'n and I are in this together, forever. He is my family. I'm his. We'll be happy any ole place...
Right?
