Month: June 2018

I’ve made a bunch of progress on the house in anticipation of the movers coming in 5 days. Except we found out today that they aren’t actually coming in 5 days. The dates that we requested several weeks ago are not available. We aren’t sure whether they were available back when we requested them, but whatever, we can’t go back in time so it means a shift in our plans.

In the win column, we actually have orders and plane tickets home. Sort of. We were all going to fly together on the 19th through London and Josh was going to stay in Los Angeles and work for a few days before flying back to Abu Dhabi to close out our tour while the kids and I continued on to Santa Cruz. This moving date complication was influential in canceling Josh’s plans to go to California. Now the kids and I will fly home on the 20th and Josh will stay in country for 10 more days before meeting us in Southern California to finish up his Marine Corps career (paperwork). Technically I have tickets for the flight on the 19th, but I’m hoping to get them switched to a different airline and fly on the 20th, avoiding a 6 hour layover in Heathrow airport.

What else is up in the air? Josh has his retirement ceremony scheduled for June 14th, but there are rumors that the 14th may be the first day of the Eid holiday. If that’s the case, the embassy is closed for the day and we won’t have the retirement ceremony at all. They asked him if he wanted to pick a backup date and he said, “Nope. This is it.” We’ll either have it or not. It’s perfectly fitting for the way life is here. Inshallah until the end. I don’t think the 14th will be a holiday because (insert moon sightings and Ramadan timing talk that you don’t care about, but gets discussed endlessly) I think the moon sighting will be the evening of the 14th with the first day of Eid as the 15th. We’ll see if I’m right a week from now.

Josh’s future company’s HR is busy doing something (we aren’t sure what) and exasperating his future boss who really wants him to have the offer in hand already so he can sign a contract and formalize their commitment. It’s more funny than stressful at this point especially as other stressors move to the forefront.

Like selling my car. Or transferring it. Or whatever it is that needs to be done in order for us to leave the country. Josh has been busy in paperwork hell trying to figure out the process and get things signed and since we’re with the embassy everything is a bit more complicated. In some countries diplomatic status has perks, but here it’s an extra hoop to jump through every time we need to acquire or cancel a service, travel in and out of the airport, or sell a car.

I have one more day of work this week and then only 5 more days of school (or possibly 4!) until we break for summer. We’re all ready, but we’re also ready to be past this part of moving — the packing, the paperwork, the leaving. We’ll have a different set of challenges on the other side, but it will be nice to be working toward something that’s semi-permanent and indefinite.

We still don’t have an official offer, but we have a better understanding of what has been going on behind the scenes. Josh has been in contact with the company and they are working on getting authorization to hire him with a visa to work in the UAE. And since it’s Ramadan . . . they didn’t say that part, but I know it’s always a factor. Productivity goes way down during this month. We should have something in hand this weekend. As always, inshallah.

Meanwhile, I’m plowing through our possessions, freeing us from any extra weight. I’m not concerned with the literal weight of our shipment (as is sometimes a factor), but all things create weight in my mind — figuring out where to put them in the new house, cleaning them, maintaining them, organizing them. Less stuff generally equals less stress. I’ve been energized in my efforts by the songs from The Greatest Showman soundtrack. I am not a movie person (it’s the only one I’ve watched this year), but I found it to be enchanting. It’s sweet, family friendly, and has a great message about what’s really important in life.

Camille and I watched it together this past weekend and then watched it again and have been playing the music while we work and it’s impossible to keep from moving when they’re singing: This is the greatest show! We light it up and we won’t come down, [I don’t need two silverware organizers and three colanders] and the sun can’t stop us now . . . [give away these shirts] watching it come true, [bye, bye stuffed animals] it’s taking over you. Oh, this is the greatest show!

But the song that I relate to most at the moment is Tightrope:

Some people long for a life that is simple and planned
Tied with a ribbon [definitely not us]
Some people won’t sail the sea ’cause they’re safer on land [or won’t fly #beenthere]
To follow what’s written
But I’d follow you to the great unknown [anywhere, really]
Off to a world we call our own . . .

Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between
Desert and ocean [yes, we’ve covered it all!]
You pulled me in and together we’re lost in a dream
Always in motion [for sure!]
So I risk it all just to be with you
And I risk it all for this life we choose [all 21 years and beyond. Love you babe.]

I was under the illusion that staying in Abu Dhabi would relieve the stress of having to move. Um, no. I’m still freaking moving. I’ve just spent the past 2 days as I would with any other move — up to my elbows in junk, tossing things right and left, sneezing from all the dust, and feeling surprisingly nostalgic about the things that we’ve phased out of. Classic books that I hoped the boys would read that won’t appeal to Camille (or they are at the library): gone. All the early picture books and easy readers: gone (but not my precious Five in a Row books). Caleb’s outgrown clothes — with no boy coming up behind him, gone.

So much more to do . . . I’ve finished our bedroom (my half at least), the bookshelves, one bathroom and I’m off to take care of more. This is the part where I always want to skip ahead to the end or abandon it all and start over fresh on the other side. But for the first time in 21 years we’re actually taking a vacation in the middle of a move. Every other transition we’ve jumped from one place to the next (because I can’t enjoy a vacation while I have 20 million things on my to do list, including finding a place to live), but this time the clock stops when we leave Abu Dhabi and I can’t do anything to speed up the transition process so I should be able to rest, relax, and enjoy our time in CA.

Reminding myself that every bit I do now is going to make life easier when we’re moving in — whenever and wherever that may be!

Josh got an email this morning with word that his job offer is being finalized. I’m guessing it has taken a lot of discussion because it is not cheap to live here and there’s probably some sticker shock regarding the cost of housing and school. Now my butterflies are picking up. The fear isn’t that it we won’t agree on the offer, but that we didn’t estimate our need properly and will find things to be pinched next year. Also with the high price tag comes pressure to be “worth it.” I know Josh is worth it, but I don’t know how much pressure he will feel starting out and needing to prove his worth. I’m continuing to pray that it all comes together naturally and seamlessly.

The packers come in 10 days and I haven’t started to think about how best to pack up or streamline all of this stuff. It’s always better to purge before the move, but I don’t know how much mental energy I have to do that this time. But if I don’t, the movers will be handing me boxes full of regret in October, so I better gear up and get to clearing out. This afternoon after church it’s going to be me, The Golden Girls, and a pile of boxes and trash bags: keep, give away, throw away.