Ch-ch-ch-Changes.....

It's that time of year again: PCS (permanent change of station) season. In military life you count years by how much time you've been stationed at a particular base and how much time you have left there. Around spring or fall each year everyone finds out their new assignment and if they will be staying at a base or moving to a new base. Well, this season is our PCS year. I can't believe that we've already been here for 4yrs this coming November!!! It seems like just yesterday I was a new wife of only 3wks moving across the country with my handsome love to begin this new journey. Boy, these past 4yrs have FLOWN by!! I've grown so much since then. It's one thing to have researched military life and to think I knew what this life was all about. But, it's totally different than anything I thought I knew...most for the better, some for the not so better. Maybe I'll write about all of that in another whole post ;p Back to the subject at hand though: PCS and decision time. When you get to a base, you sort of make friends with all of the other wives who got to base about the same time as you. So, when PCS season comes around, we're all on the same schedule. These past few months I've seen my fellow wives rejoice over their new soon-to-be base and congratulate each other on getting out of the desert. It is exciting to see where everyone is going. I must admit though, it always makes me a tad jealous to see those who get orders to Europe or Asia. Ya know, those dream, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to immerse yourself in another country and culture. However, for us, no such thing will come about. My hubby wants to stay in America for many reasons, but mainly so that our future children will know their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I do agree with him, but I always think of how fascinating it would be to be able to travel and see other cultures and countries. The photography I could do! The places of history I would see! The new and fun experience it would be! Then...I come back to reality, and I think about how close I am with my family. Even though I've been blessed to be able to see them every 6mo. while stationed in the wild west, it would be nearly impossible for us to travel back to the states once a year, let alone twice a year if we were in another country. Also, it's hard enough for them to come see us here in America; so I know it would really be impossible for them to visit us in another country!!(We're from a small town, so tickets are pretty expensive. Although I have lucked out a few times and gotten cheap tickets.) Anywho...enough daydreaming....it's ok, I'll stick with my beloved America and settle for just a vacation to Europe and Asia once we retire :-) While we know we want to stay stateside, where stateside is a whole other bag of worms. Decisions, decisions, decisions. We're kinda in a unique situation because hubby is in a special duty assignment so he is eligible for automatic BOP (base of preference). This is exciting because we could go anywhere his career field is. The options are vast! Anywhere from Florida to Georgia to Charleston to DC and beyond. We are torn both ways because we want to get back closer to our families and actual seasons eventually. We plan on starting a family in the next couple of years, and I know it will break my family's and our hearts not to be close to them when kids come along. On the other hand, we really love where we are now. We love the area and all that it has to offer. This is where we began our life together. I mean, we are just hours from some of the countries most beautiful places! There's tons that we still have to explore while on the west coast. No to mention, we have a beautiful home. Our first home we bought together. Even though we bought on the low side, this horrid economy has not turned the market around as much as we'd like. Arg... This time around is a whole lot different than when we found out we were PCSing our first time. It was just a relief to get out of his first base. I mean he was there for his first 10yrs and couldn't get away (I had to come along first, lol). So, when he got this job, we jumped at the chance. Now that we have all of these choices, it's a little daunting. We only have 6 more years (unless he stays longer than 20), so this could possibly be our last move. Which is sad to think about. We want to experience new places, but at the same time, I'm not sure we're finished here....ugh... These decisions affect a multitude of things. We finally settled into our home, but do we continue to decorate it and fix it up how we want? Do I apply for a teaching job in the fall? Do I apply to get an extra endorsement added to my teaching certificate? Because that will cost a few hundred dollars to take two more classes and wherever we go may not have the same endorsement. Do our parents have time to come on out to go to the fab places out here with us? Do we have time to go to these places ourselves? The next few weeks will be filled with a lot of discussions, researching, and as always, a ton of praying. I pray that we know the right path God wants us to take. Whether it be staying here or moving to a new base, I know that we still have a wonderful new adventure ahead of us. Stay tuned....