Good things are happening here — we joined a new gym that is only 5 minutes from our house and we’re making friends and connections at church. We’ve been embraced in record time and feel at home in both places. We even started hosting a Life Group of people from church and are getting together with them weekly.
I shared my blog address with someone recently which usually causes me to rush and reread recent posts to see how much crazy I have revealed to an unsuspecting person who only knows me from “normal” life. I’m pretty transparent here (about the things I can be) and I have very little pride left, but it’s always good to do a reality check now and then to see how I’ve presented myself to the world.
What I realized as I read back over this past year is just how much stress we’ve been under. Repeated job uncertainty, money stresses, and all of the hassle and strain that comes with several major life transitions occurring simultaneously. It made me tired all over again just reading about it. (I also begrudgingly admitted to myself that I’m not a 1/2 bad storyteller and I even cracked myself up a few times so yay for that.)
But the past several weeks pieces of our future have been fitting into place. Of course what I expected next year to look like and the picture these new pieces are forming is very different. But why be surprised? Change is the new normal. My dad joked that 20 years of military life has all been practice for the unpredictability of retirement.
I’ve been waiting all week to post, hoping that I could share more than vague puzzle analogies, but the Memorial Day holiday on the US side and Ramadan on our side means nothing new is happening this week. I can say:
- I expect to be in Abu Dhabi next year
- I expect my job to stay the same. Yay, ACS.
- I’m happy about the new things coming our way.
Less than one month until I’m back in the US with my baby (grown-up) boy. Good thing I didn’t have to wait that long to see him! He arrived last night to spend 2 weeks with us after finishing his semester finals. He was playing guitar and singing tonight and it’s exactly what I was hoping it would be like to have an adult kid.
Yes, Carter is happy about the extra height he has acquired over the last 6 months. His ego is about as long as his legs. We’ll be back at the airport in two days when we head to Thailand for a family vacation. Happy Eid and 5 days off from school!