It's been a long time, I know. And boy, do I have a story to tell. Here goes:
My request got to the very last step in the process... and got denied. Yep, that's just how it goes sometimes. My immediate higher-ups, including the Commanding Officer, tried to fight for it, but the Very Importants in their fancy offices decided that it was a no-go. I could be angry about it if I wanted, I guess. I could be angry at the Navy, angry at God, angry at anyone... but what good would it do me? If I can't change the situation, then I can learn how to gracefully (and Grace-fully) deal with disappointment. This is no one's fault, and with the right state of mind I will come out stronger. I did, however, get an interesting offer at work, which leads me to a bit of a conundrum. I now have two options:
- I can spend the last three years of my contract in Augusta. My financial situation being what it is, I still can't afford overnight daycare, so I'll probably still have to send the not-so-Little Lion Man up to Grandma and Grandpa's house every three months while I work the obligatory night shift. I'll also see my husband for about 4 days every month. The upside of this is that I won't ever deploy.
- I can move to Baltimore in April of 2012 and spend a year learning a new language. That's a year that I'll get to spend with my husband and the babe, with all weekends and most holidays off. After that year is up, I'll spend the next THREE years deployed to North Africa for 3/4 of the year. The upside of this is that I'll make a metric face-ton of money that can be saved up to give us a considerable financial cushion once I get out and get to do the mom thing.
I've also been seriously evaluating and re-evaluating (and re-evaluating, and so on and so forth) my faith -- in a good way! -- but that's a whole post in and of itself. Which I promise will come sooner than two months from now.
God bless!
-- Birdie
