"On My Way" - Phil Collins

I feel like I can finally say our Alaskan Journey has begun!  Even though we've been "off the record" planning for a good couple of weeks now-things just got really official.

Chad's leave request was approved, so we now know what day we are pulling out of the driveway for the last time.  Since we know that date, we counted to 30 and picked the closest ferry departure date to the end of our leave.  We end up cutting our 30 days of leave a few days short, but we'd prefer to have the extra time in Alaska to house hunt (sorry family, nothing personal) rather than try and rush the drive on the Al-Can highway.  Since we settled on a sailing date, I thought I'd call the ferry line and see if they were available.  They were.  We even got a cabin, I'm sure it will be super high class...it has a shower and sink and toilet, we even have a window :).  We can bring our own food or purchase meals at the cafeteria.  The cat stays in the car and we can visit him every 8 hours (which makes me happy knowing we don't have to worry about Bug letting him out of the cabin...that would make a fun story, I'm sure).

The few weeks leading up to this point have been a bit of a journey all on their own.  We've had a lot of ups and downs, there has been a lot of speculating and tentative planning with back up and back-back up plans.  We originally were going to fly to MI and then fly to AK, have our car shipped and make the cat get himself to AK somehow... This was all going to happen in mid June which put me at about 34-35 weeks pregnant...it was VERY hard to find the joy in that situation.  But things shifted, as they tend to do in a Military Home, and we're all very happy with how the plans are falling together.

In addition to having our ferry reservations, we also have a temporary housing reservation, and a "living wall calendar" that covers the last 60 or so days that we are in Louisiana.  I have phone numbers assigned to each step of the process, I have sticky notes that tell me to sort clothes and the filing and the junk drawers.  The major steps we need to take are still on hold until we get those precious orders in our hands and we can make 15,000 copies of them.  We aren't going to get those orders until Bug and I are cleared of needing any extra medical care of any kind.  I was told that takes 1-2 weeks...we don't have the screening until next week...so we are looking at 3 weeks until we get that coveted piece of paper.  Grumble, grumble. 

The joy in this journey---the fact I can use this as an opportunity to teach my daughter patience by example?  Blah.  I totally understand why she throws temper-tantrums.  That's much more appealing right now...  

I guess I should now go rearrange my sticky notes on the calendar so I'm doing the house organizing over the next two weeks and we'll have the last month to rush through the Army red tape.  Oh Joy :)

"After All These Years" - Journey

Just over 4 years ago I started dating the man who'd change my life in a way I'd never anticipated.
3 & 1/2 years ago I married this man.
2 years 8 months ago marks the day I became part of the Military World.

Looking back over the last 4 years, I can easily categorize big life events and the moments leading up to and following these events, as the many different journeys I've been lucky enough to embark on.  Spending a year apart from my husband during our recent deployment, gave me a lot of time (probably more than necessary) to reflect on my "life"; how I see it, and how all the aspects, people, and elements in this life mingle in and around each other.  I've come to sum it all up in one word.

Journey.

Whether we see our lives as a long-term spiritual journey to somewhere completely not of this world, or as a basic road map of the places we visit and the people we meet.  Everything we do is some form of a journey, some can be good and some can be bad depending on where we are and what we are doing, and it has become my deep belief, that it is our responsibility to learn how to find joy and love and goodness while on whatever journey we find ourselves on at the moment.

During my husband's recent deployment, I kept a 365 day blog that I initially started as a count down for me and a way for my husband to stay up on our daily lives while he was away.  It grew to be a life-saver for me. It forced me to wake up and find something good in every day that we were apart.  Some days were MUCH harder than others to find the good.  Some days I gave up and admitted that I didn't want to find anything good.  But looking back over those 365 days the percentage of those two days (especially the latter) was so minor compared to the days where I was able to smile about something.  I realized how happy I was and could be even in the worst circumstance (with my other half being thousands of miles away and in constant danger).  I decided I want to ALWAYS feel that way.  Who wouldn't?

So, the blog is back :)  Our next big adventure is a PCS move to Fairbanks, Alaska in roughly 2 months.  To add some fun and excitement to this journey, I'll be about 30 weeks pregnant.  And this trip isn't just the direct trip to Alaska, we're squeezing in a vacation to Michigan on the way (not that Michigan is on the way from Louisiana...).  I hope to keep the focus on finding the joy in this big journey and not the stress, no matter what stunt the Army red tape, or the cat, or the energetic 2 year old of ours pulls while we plan to move, move, and unpack in the Great White North!