Hubs’ official Navy orders for Leadership School are in. We’ll be heading to the east coast in January, and we’ll be there for almost a full year. Well, at least he will be going in January – I still have work and housing things to arrange first. As long as at least one of the two plays out as hoped, then I’ll get to join him in January for five days in a car with the dog and the cat and the houseplants and all the candles, batteries, lightbulbs, and booze that the movers wouldn’t put on the truck. Tremendous.
I love the moment that orders come in. It’s not about what they say, it’s that now there is a plan. There are definite answers. I didn’t know if we were going to move in January or April, and now I do, and that makes me happy. It’s not that I necessarily wanted it to be one or the other, it’s just that I wanted to know. There would have been positives and negatives either way. But now I get to start actively looking at houses (I’ve already emailed on 4 places), and getting excited about all the restaurants I remember from the last time Hubs had to go through a program at this school, almost 4 years ago. And the yarn shop. The delicious, wonderful yarn shop. Maybe I’ll be shopping there for scrumptious blankie-type yarn……
At times, the possibility of being pregnant weighs heavily on my planning and I factor it in automatically. Other times, it’s a caveat I have to remind myself about. I’m eyeing three-bedroom places and their suitability for a nursery, but at the same time I’m thinking about what the walking distance would be to a couple of my favorite bars. The job piece is tricky. I work in a federal library, and the powers above are trying to just transfer me to a different federal library there, basically without changing my position. That is super fantastic, and I am so fortunate that the library director I have here has been advocating for me 100%. There are still some HR challenges to circumvent, which are too bureaucratically jumbled to go into, but I’m optimistic. I’m going to feel like a total asshole if I have to go “I know you guys just stuck your neck out for me and fought the red tape and hired me without even an interview, but GUESS WHAT?! I’m going to need a whole bunch of leave and then probably a very flexible part time schedule.” Of course, it’s way better that I have a year there instead of six or seven months. That makes me much less of a jerk. And the first six months (ish) will almost certainly be uninterrupted, unless something were to go awry. But I’m getting way ahead of myself. One thing at a time, right?
No. I haven’t ovulated yet. CD 21 today. As excited as I am about finally being able to plan my next year, I suppose that this sort of thing qualifies as stressful. Excited is not relaxed.
Crossing the Double Pink Lines 
so does this mean no Japan? i don’t know how these things work! but the east coast sounds awesome (did i ever mention that i grew up in Maine?). And having sneaked a peak at your prospective apartment pic (have a little alliteration in your day) – i’m so excited for you! Those pictures feel like home to me, i can just imagine how much nesting you’re already doing in your head. I know what you mean, too, about the possibilities involving just the two of you, but also about hypothetically more than just you two. That’s exactly how it was for me when we were scouting our Portland move. I think it’s good to be excited about the bars and all of the things conducive to a couples lifestyle – that being said, i hope you find yourself having to learn all about the nearest daycares and parks in the not-so-distant future!
and also i forgot to turn off italics. oh well.
Japan will be 2012-13, after Leadership School. It gets pretty complicated. I did not know you were from out that way, very cool. I’ve only spent a couple of months in New England, but I’m really excited to have almost a whole year there.
There does happen to be a park about 2 blocks away – and I’ve already been looking into the maternity facilities at the Tricare hospital. And they look pretty surprisingly terrific. Perhaps a post on that soon. 🙂