The News

So, I should probably fill the world in; "world" being a relative term, right? I'm sure there are thousands of you gripping the edge of your seats right now waiting for some big announcement, right? Wait for it....wait...waaaaiiiiit....

Anyway, most of you already know that, the Air Force likes to shake things up in a big way sometimes. Bryon got promoted just a few short weeks ago and we were barely over being proud of him for that when big Daddy Air Force called and said, guess what? You know how you thought you got to stay in California for the "normal" amount of time? Put "normal" right out of your head.

Bryon has been offered a very big job at the Pentagon. We use the word "offer" very loosely here. Let's just put some things in perspective. In the last three years, Bryon has been plucked out of his job at Edwards to go to AFIT where he was at the top of his class, then got the last slot at Squadron Officer's School where, oops, darn it if he wasn't Distinguished Graduate. Oh, then boy holly if he didn't somehow make it onto the radar of the General to become his executive officer. So, when he got promoted to Major, we must've been crazy to think he'd lay low and just coast through his assignment.

Alas, you don't say no to a joint job at the Pentagon that is secret. Do I know what it is? No. Does he? No. Will I ever? No. Are we proud of him? Yes. Does it screw up our lives? Yes. Are we happy about it. Ummmm.....

Pending.....Processing....Processing.....Processing.....

It's been a few weeks and we are still figuring it all out. When we made the decision for me to go back to school, it was with the math that I'd have enough time to finish the degree, as grad credits don't traditionally transfer very well. As in, not at all. So, it was a pretty big decision.

Alas, I'm half done as of this semester. Thus, in traditional Air Force logic, when the big cheese at the Pentagon calls and says, Bryon can we have you in May, oh, just kidding, in February, oh just kidding, in January, it doesn't make the idea of dropping all my credits to move all that appealing. So, what to do?

I'm staying.

For a year.

If I keep repeating that it's only a year, one minute it sounds terrible and the next minute it sounds like it's only a year. I keep telling myself that plenty of my military sisters have done this through deployments without the luxury of visitation rights. We can do this. And heck, we are choosing it!

It's been a rough decision. It's already been more headaches, more stress, more meetings with professors, more phone calls, more e-mails, more arrangements, more decisions, more lists, just MORE than I could have ever imagined. And, he hasn't even left yet.

His report date is 14 January and if all goes according to plan, I have a really heavy semester coming in the spring, and I should be able to join him by next spring, finishing my thesis in correspondence. Collin will be starting school full time in January, which should keep both him and I busy and the time will fly (fingers crossed).

We'll miss Daddy every day and we won't know how we'll make it without him. But, we are counting on a lot of help from friends and family already and if we can survive this year, we'll survive anything.