SO it is official, Tom got the email inviting him to join the foreign service...and he asks me what he should say. Is he serious? Has this not been a topic of discussion monthly in our house for the last 8 years? Is it not his life dream? Has he not researched, studied, prayed, hoped, wished for this moment for most of our married life? "Ummm, duhhhh," I say. So swiftly he makes the call and accepts the position with a month to think about how to resign from a job he likes a lot. A month to dream about the "what ifs" and for Tom, a month to worry about whether he is making the right decision for his family. ("ummm duhhhh" I say again) No time for me to worry because now it is time for me to read the books he wanted me to read and research the blogs and foreign service sites that he had found...wait a minute, I thought this was his career, not mine...but I have homework and lots of it! (and oh so much more to come...)
Fast forward to May 12th, his first day at the new job... suit and tie required...8 a.m. start time, no late entries allowed! (For Tom, the waking up at 6:30 was the hardest part of the whole transition) We all go about our normal day, but are all thinking about him and excitedly awaiting his arrive because not only will he have lots to share, but more importantly he will be bringing home the bid list. 5:30 arrives and so does tom, we kiss him and attack his bag for the bid list...
Chennai? Sanaa? Abuja? Vientiene? Accra? Lusaka? Matamoros? I don't even know what continent some of these places are on, let alone the country they are in... and yes, there are lots of unaccompanied posts as well. Forget dinner, Tom's parents (who came to visit to help with the kids) and I all sat down with the lists and started our own rankings and talked right through dinner and beyond about where we might be in as little as 3 months...
Tuesday was my day to join tom as I had spouse orientation tuesday and wednesday. It was fun to get dressed up and commute to work with Tom (although he is quite a grump in the morning ;) It was also a lot of fun to be an adult again...getting coffee and breakfast, talking with other adults, reading without being interrupted... It was a morning of welcoming and information, then an afternoon of researching in the overseas briefing center about all the countries on the list. Wednesday was much of the same...information on life overseas, medical issues, travel, post information, and basically how much this is a new career and lifestyle for me as well. I was unbelievably jazzed about the whole thing! I continued to go in on Thursday and Friday to finish up researching posts... we spent the evenings after the kids went down watching post videos to see what it was like in these places... every time we watched a video or read more about a country, our list of places that we liked got longer. The organizer in me made a spread sheet and had a mission, to break down the information and get this job done. I finally finished Friday and was able to let it all go. Tom and I made a draft bid list (ranking the posts high, medium or low) and we were in agreement on all of them! Now back to being a mommy again...
Saturday I took Noah to the doctor for an ear ache, came out with a sinus infection diagnosis and antibiotics, and while we were there the doctor listened to my obnoxious cough and put me on antibiotics for walking pneumonia...by sunday Nick and Tom also had a cold...so it was a rough week on everyone.
Now it is after Memorial Day, the final bid list is turned in, we are recovering from our sicknesses, Tom is off to the work retreat and we wait until June 20th to find out more....
Knowing that our time in DC is limited is really making us appreciate the little things...and also look forward to the amazing changes that are coming. I will update again when we know more!
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