Month: April 2018

As I wait for confirmation, for the “yes” that I know is coming, I’ve started to run numbers on what it costs to live here and what our total all-in number needs to be in order for the offer to become reality.

I’ve actually been running numbers for the last 4 months and reading up on US tax law since we will be in a different situation working in the private sector rather than for the US government. Right now our housing is covered and school is paid for and we get a normal paycheck. Next year housing will be covered and school will be paid for, but as civilians it will be considered income and we will have to pay taxes on that amount. That’s a smack in the face when school costs over 20k per kid (yes, that’s dollars).

Did I ever think I would pay more for my kid to go to 3rd grade than I paid for my freshman year at Westmont College? Nope. But there is no public school here. We could choose a cheaper private American school, but we’re talking the difference between 18 and 20K. There isn’t an option that costs 5 or 8 or even 12K. For 2 thousand dollars a year difference would I pay for my kid to go to the better rated school? Yes, absolutely. So there you go. Taxes on 64 thousand are about $19,000. We owe 19 grand and haven’t even brought $1 home yet. Ackkkk!!!

Then add in the (obscene) cost of rent, any plane tickets home, and any moving costs paid by the company (all also considered taxable income) and we are looking like high rollers on paper, but paupers after the tax man cometh.

Oh yeah, and as California residents, the Golden State takes its (big) bite too. That’s why I’ve been calculating and recalculating and I think I have it narrowed down to the magic number that it will take to allow us to stay here. I may not be able to take my bucket-list trip to New Zealand (driving around in a camper and sleeping on the beach with seals) without saving up for a few years, but we won’t starve. Most likely we will be more than fine, but there’s a whole lot of unknowns to make known.

***Just so you know, while I am very confident that Josh will get this job, I still have that little buzz at the back of my brain, “what if? What will you do then?” I’m human, not Superwoman! 

It’s the first day of our workweek, but I’ve been reminding myself all day that not only is it still the weekend back in the US, but it’s an extra 10 hours behind us. That means the clock can’t start ticking on “we’ll let you know this week” for another 24 hours at least.

Tick-tock. I bought myself a bike at a garage sale yesterday in anticipation of moving close to school. It has a wire basket on the back, a la Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West and I love the idea of riding around downtown with my knitting and my books. Of course it’s too hot to ride for the next 6 months, but I can dream.

Today I had the privilege of going to the baptism of one of my AWANA kids. The church his family attends holds baptisms every so often at various spots around Abu Dhabi. Today’s site was a beach right next to a public park and three people were baptized this morning.

I love that we could gather as a group (of about 30 people), sing worship songs on the beach, share testimonies, and praise God publicly in a Muslim country.

The rest of the day was spent as a family at Motiongate Dubai (the amusement park that we have season passes for). It was hot, hot, hot . . . but a good chunk of the park is air conditioned and all of the ride lines are inside air-conditioned buildings.

It was practically empty today and we walked onto all of our favorite rides multiple times. The Madagascar roller coaster is always my favorite because it’s the fastest and it makes me laugh, but the boys like the Hunger Games train (the upside down roller coaster) even better. We’ll see which one Camille likes best when she’s finally tall enough to ride it in the fall (she’s a hair below the “you must be this tall to ride” sign.)

Am I confident we’ll be here in the fall? I am. Josh keeps telling me bits and pieces as he remembers them from his interview and it sounds more like a meeting than an interview. When they suggest that he might want to switch his state of residency to Texas to avoid income taxes? In my world, that’s a pretty big green light.

Of course I’ve been sure since the beginning that he would do well in this job interview/transition process. That confident kid with big plans from 1994 has only improved and refined his game over the past several decades. He convinced me to hitch my wagon to that star and I figure the rest of the world would want to as well. In my mind it’s settled, but he has grown in maturity and humility over the past 24 years and is waiting for an actual offer before he celebrates.

But tonight we both celebrate our sleeping child. The melatonin miracle continues. No cajoling, no music, no “I’m thirsty,” no tears. Just sweet snoring after falling asleep with the light on.

The interview took place at 11 am this morning. Josh looked sharp in his custom suit and was ready for his final date at the Ritz-Carlton.

As he went to work, we hit our weekly post-church breakfast spot and prayed for success. He came home a few hours later reporting that it went as well as he could have hoped, that they used “when” language rather than “if,” and said that he will know either way by the end of the week.

We ordered pizza for the kids and Josh and I went out to dinner to talk it over. He’s hopeful, but like all Bachelorettes, knows it’s not a sure thing until he has the ring/contract in hand.

I think the future looks bright.

Josh takes all sorts of supplements to enhance performance, aid in muscle recovery, and who knows what else. Meanwhile, I don’t like taking anything because I have issues. My psychiatrist way back when explained it perfectly: “when you swallow something you feel as if you’ve lost control because it is acting on your body and you can’t control what it is going to do.” Yep, yep. Nailed it.

So I have my list of “safe things” that I will take because I have experience with them and I know that they aren’t going to do anything weird to me: 1) Zoloft (though if I get a new prescription and the pills are a different color I do get a bit weird about it the first few times) and 2) Motrin (prefer brand name gelcaps because we have a solid history.)

So, Josh bought me this herb ashwaganda and said I should take it and I’m like, “Um, do you even know me at all?” But he persisted and said it’s supposed to be good for stress and adrenal support and with all of the stress in our lives that it would be good for me — he listens to too many healthy living postcasts. The idea of a natural stress reliever sounded good so I googled all the possible side effects. Bad idea, but I can’t help it. It’s a compulsion.

Other than the blanket “could cause allergic reaction if you’re allergic to it” warning there wasn’t too much to be worried about so I waited a week and finally, in a grand ceremony, took one. And then spent the next 20 minutes pacing and evaluating how I felt and stroking my neck and chest, willing my airway to stay open.

Since I’m still here I’m sure you can figure out that I didn’t die so I started taking it morning and evening. I complained to Josh that I didn’t feel any sharper or smarter yet and he sighed and said that’s not what this is supposed to do. I guess that’s one his other “nootropic” things that he takes and it has something to do with mushroom coffee. I don’t see myself going there even if it does give me brain power.

But I did cave and started taking Camille’s melatonin chocolates after seeing how fast she is falling asleep every night. And yes, I held the same ceremony where I swallow it (or in this case, chew up the yummy chocolate) and then wait 20 minutes to see if I fall over dead. Thankfully my throat didn’t close up and I can verify that they are magic in a big blue M&M. I am never sleepy at night, but this week I’ve been yawning and end up in a deep sleep before Josh even comes upstairs. I’ve turned into Sleeping Beauty and I love it.

I don’t see any more pharmaceutical stretching in my future for a while. I have a big bottle of Calcium/Magnesium sitting next to my bed, just waiting for me to start taking it, but I want to make sure all my other pills work together before adding something new to the mix. And yes, I do know how ridiculous that sounds . . .