The Hardest Question

Terry and I are going through a period of uncertainty, stress, and some heartache right now. Recently it seems as if we get asked the same question in a number of different ways. Do you guys know where you are moving to? Where are you going after you leave Germany? Are you going to -- state after you leave Germany? When are you moving? Etc. While most of the people asking these questions are well-meaning, getting asked the same thing repeatedly is very upsetting and hard to hear. Especially when our answer is always I/we don't know. Ultimately, where we move depends on where we can find jobs, and when we move depends on the orders that Terry is given.

I have been asked this roughly 15 times over the past two days. Every time I have to answer it, I get a little bit sadder and just want to cry by the end of the day. It is hard.

Please don't take this post personally. It is not directed at any one person. And please if you do ask us, please don't be offended if we reply that we don't want to talk about it.

Once we know something and are ready to share it, we will.


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Recent Loves

Some fun things I can't get enough of lately:

Trader Joes Green Tea Mints- 

I'm pretty much a sucker for green tea flavored anything and I hate strong mints. When I was in North Carolina back in October, I saw these at the little money suck shelves by the cash register and stupidly only put one in my cart. I have been hoarding and rationing them ever since. Every time Terry would ask me for one, I would give him a bit of an evil side eye. Thank goodness my in-laws just sent us 7 packages in the mail! If you live near a Trader Joe's, you want to try these. Trust me.

Nars Lipstick in Damage-

Pretty much the perfect shade. At least on me.

Vera Bradley Emily Satchel in Bayou Blue-

Such a pretty pattern and it's been nice to get a new bag that isn't a tote. I have a terrible habit of throwing everything but the kitchen sink into my totes and then lugging them around all day long and complaining when my shoulders start to hurt.

Lilly Pulitzer Riley Infinity Loop-

I purchased this a little while ago and have been loving it. I wear a lot of solid color tops and sweaters, so a scarf is such a fun way to add some color to an outfit. I have plenty of Murfees and other scarves but this was my first infinity scarf. I was worried it would look too trendy on me since I am not a person who can pull off trends in general, but it looks really nice!

Rekorderlig Passionfruit Cider-

A friend of mine over here was telling me that this is her favorite cider. I had never heard of it so she brought me back a bottle from London. I drank it during the Opening Ceremony on Friday, and immediately wished that I had a whole case of it. It is a very pale shade, and looks almost like a flavored sparkling water in the glass, but it tastes nothing like that! It is delicious without being overly sticky sweet. This particular flavor is currently not available in the United States, but if you are in an area where it is sold (the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, and parts of Europe), I highly recommend picking up several bottles (you will want more than one, trust me!). I am trying to order a case or two before we move back to the States.

I'm back

After a several month long hiatus for no reason whatsoever I'm back on the blogging bandwagon. So much has happened since my last post- my best friend of 15 years got married, we took a few trips and planned a big one to Rome for next week, and we got the results of Terry's medical evaluation board.

Terry had to go through one to determine if he could still serve. Because he has a clotting condition, he has to be on Coumadin for the rest of his life. This means he's non-deployable. On Thursday, after a long wait, we got his results back. As far as the Air Force is concerned, he is considered to be disabled and will be retiring after 10 years of service in April. This is not how he saw his career ending, but ultimately, it may be for the best. (The Air Force recently announced its own Hunger Games- it plans to cut 25,000 troops within the next few years.) We are not ready for our time in Germany to come to an end and are terrified of what's to come. We have roughly two months to pack up our house, find a place to live, and find jobs. If we were living in the States now, it would not be so scary because we would already have a house or apartment and could keep paying rent on it. Now we are just picking blindly, it seems. People keep asking us where we're going to live once we get back to the States and that is such a frustrating and hard question for us. The answer is always "we just don't know."

We have been pretty stressed, upset, and overwhelmed the past few days. Terry is in a class this week learning how to adjust to civilian life. There are so many things he has never had to worry about such as needing a resume or having professional clothes. No real need for business casual or dressier attire when you have to wear the same thing every day. Everything just seems so daunting.

Has anyone been through this? Do you have any tips?

Also, if anyone here knows of any job openings (particularly anything that requires a security clearance since his was just renewed a few months ago) please let me know.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad