The Halfway Mark

For the last year and a half we have lived in paradise.  This means we're already half-way though the 3 year commitment.

. . . I have no idea how to finish the above paragraph.  My mind is hopping on and off various emotional trains so quickly that my fingers can not possibly keep up.   My reaction to that statement is more facial expression than words.  (Which is incredibly difficult to blog.)  It kinda looks like this:  Three parts sadness, one part anger and two parts denial.  A dash of excitement about what will come next, a pinch of panic, and then a smidge of sadness.  Yeah, I know I added sadness twice.  And even so, the excitement part is gaining.  Not that we want to leave this incredible place.  I'm sure we would remain extremely happy here for years to come.  I'm just not sure that we're ready for our adventure to end just yet.  This whole "opening yourself up to possibilities you haven't yet imagined" thing is addicting. 

So what happens next?

We really don't know.

One year from now we'll have to start answering "what next?" "where next?" and "when next?" questions.  If you were hoping for something a bit less wishy-washy than the first part of this blog, then I'm sorry to disappoint you.  Because today, we have no idea how to answer those questions.

It is possible that we'll begin making plans to move in December of 2014.  It is possible that we will stick around for one extra year.  It is possible that we'll stay for 3 more years.  It all depends on what jobs surface at what times.  

Where on earth we'll be moving is anybody's guess.  Remember the game we played as kids where you spin the globe, close your eyes, and then stop it with your finger to determine where you will live when you grow up?  (What?  You mean not everyone did that?)  Yeah.  It kinda feels like that.  If Dan decides to stick with the Warrior Transition Battalion thing with the Army, then we can narrow the possibilities down to a hand full of locations.  There is also a strong probability of PHS positions opening in numerous VA hospitals across the country.  This could open a literal world of possibilities for us.

After having just returned from a three week family immersion trip, I will say that it would be wonderful to not have to sit on a plane for 10+ hours to be able to love on Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunties and Uncles and Cousins.  When we first moved, Axel would ask if we could "go see cousins tonight," having no concept of the distance between said cousins and himself.  But he's starting to get it.  The goodbyes are harder when he can feel the difference between "see you tomorrow," and "see you at Christmas."

If it was just Dan and me, I think I'd love to make a list of exciting places to live, and every 3 years we'd scratch another one off.  But that's only be fun because we have roots.  We have a place we'll forever call "home."  I'm not yet sure where that place will be for our kids.

But it would be nice if that place had really fresh mangoes.  Here's to another year and a half in paradise!