12 months from now we’ll be preparing to move. The change could be as small as moving all of the furniture out of this house and switching it with another department’s furniture (different job with the embassy, different furniture pool) or moving to a different house in Abu Dhabi, or as extensive as preparing pets for export, new school admissions, and gearing up to move to another country or even repatriating to the United States.
I have no idea which way it will go, but every single option will bring big changes to our household. We’ll no longer be an active duty military family, but will have entered the ranks of the retired. For the first time in 21 years, Josh will have personal autonomy. He’ll no longer be property of the US government. We’ll even be able to take that trip to Lebanon (currently not allowed).
But no longer will we be able to rely on God’s direction for our future coming through loud and clear, as strong as a blast from a bullhorn, in the form of military orders every two years. Now we will have to sift through soft whisperings and hope that we are hearing him properly as we determine which job to take, where to move, and how long to stay.
I’m excited. I am confident that even in this shrinking job market, Josh will have multiple job offers to choose from. Who knows where that will take us, but I’m willing to go. I can only laugh at the direction my blog would take if we end up back in the US. I know I’d have plenty to write about:
So much skin! Why is everyone walking around with a Starbucks cup in hand and virtually no clothing on their bodies?
Who needs 286 varieties of cereal? How am I supposed to pick one if it takes 20 minutes to look at all the choices?
Oh Costa Coffee, how I miss you. I know as a stockholder I should be loyal to the Green Mermaid, but those Brits have you beat.
Wait. I have to drive to pick up McDonald’s? They don’t deliver? Hold on. NO ONE delivers?!?!?
OK, I get that restaurants don’t deliver: dry cleaners must deliver at least — what do you mean I can’t afford dry cleaning? Dry cleaning costs HOW MUCH? It’s not $2 to clean a dress? Well, never mind then. Back to only buying easy care clothing.
And so much more . . .
Interesting things are ahead for us and the transition starts next month when Calvin graduates from High School. I am so thankful that we aren’t trying to transition our family at the same time we are sending our oldest off to college. Avoiding that perfect storm of chaos is the reason that Josh postponed retirement for one year and took this assignment in Abu Dhabi.
Calvin will finish school, go on a farewell tour of the Middle East (traveling to Oman and Bahrain to say goodbye to his friends who live there), and then we will all fly to California to send him off. When we return to Abu Dhabi the real work of transition begins. Resume writing, interviewing, negotiating, and continuing in the current job to finish well.
Counting down — the beginning of the end. New beginnings are right around the corner.