Monday, August 24, 2009
The Bad News Always Comes with the Good :)
Woo Hoo!! We got our orders today! I was able to take a sigh of relief before the onslaught of everything I need to do now hit me :) The first thing I did was call the lady in charge of the Overseas Screening and let her know that I am still waiting for a call from her...then I called her supervisor (but no answer there either) >:( But of course, with the good comes the bad. Along with the orders, Dean just informed me that he will be coming home a little earlier than expected - the end of September. However, he then needs to leave for a school for a month in October! Ugh. Not the greatest news...he will be around for a few weeks to help me set things up, but then take off during the really crazy month that I thought I he would be here for. I think I'll give my babysitter a raise, and hope for the best! :)
Friday, August 21, 2009
Hurry Up and Wait
Anyone in the military will be very familiar with this term because it aptly defines life in the Armed Forces. I'll give you an example: despite the fact we were under pressure to make a decision to take orders to Germany, once we finally did, we were put in a holding pattern for nearly four weeks as we now continue to wait for said orders.
That's right, even though I have set up this blog in order to record our journey to Germany, the fact is, it could all fall apart right before our very eyes. You see, nothing in the military is definite without orders...orders we do not yet have. Both Dean and I are very anxious to get these papers in our hands, especially because NOTHING can be done without them.
This is extremely stressful since most military members know within 6-9 months that they will be moving overseas, and can plan their move accordingly. We have less than 4 months. And two of the major things that need to be done, no one will even take our calls without these orders.
Case-in-point: when you move overseas, each member of the family needs to go through what is called an Overseas Screening. This is essentially a physical to make sure you are in good health, before you move to a place that may not be able to handle any health issues you might have. Since my daughter is beginning Kindergarten in the Fall, I will already need to remove her in the middle of the school year. With this move (and impending jet lag), I know she will miss a lot of school, and I was hoping to limit that by getting her screening done before she starts. I called the woman in charge three weeks ago, I called her last week, I called her this week...still no word.
I didn't exactly tell her that we didn't have orders, I just asked if we needed them to start this process. I guess that was enough for her to ignore my calls. But believe me, once we do get those orders, the next call will not be a nice one.
The second thing we need to do but can't without orders is set up our move. But I'll go more into that later (oh yeah, I'll defnitely get more into that later) :) But for now, just keep your fingers crossed that we will get the orders this week. And stay tuned, because believe me, this is just the beginning of the drama!!
That's right, even though I have set up this blog in order to record our journey to Germany, the fact is, it could all fall apart right before our very eyes. You see, nothing in the military is definite without orders...orders we do not yet have. Both Dean and I are very anxious to get these papers in our hands, especially because NOTHING can be done without them.
This is extremely stressful since most military members know within 6-9 months that they will be moving overseas, and can plan their move accordingly. We have less than 4 months. And two of the major things that need to be done, no one will even take our calls without these orders.
Case-in-point: when you move overseas, each member of the family needs to go through what is called an Overseas Screening. This is essentially a physical to make sure you are in good health, before you move to a place that may not be able to handle any health issues you might have. Since my daughter is beginning Kindergarten in the Fall, I will already need to remove her in the middle of the school year. With this move (and impending jet lag), I know she will miss a lot of school, and I was hoping to limit that by getting her screening done before she starts. I called the woman in charge three weeks ago, I called her last week, I called her this week...still no word.
I didn't exactly tell her that we didn't have orders, I just asked if we needed them to start this process. I guess that was enough for her to ignore my calls. But believe me, once we do get those orders, the next call will not be a nice one.
The second thing we need to do but can't without orders is set up our move. But I'll go more into that later (oh yeah, I'll defnitely get more into that later) :) But for now, just keep your fingers crossed that we will get the orders this week. And stay tuned, because believe me, this is just the beginning of the drama!!
Introduction
I guess to start this off, I should introduce myself and why I am starting a blog. My name is Tiffany, and I am very happily married to a Naval Officer named Dean. We have two children, Delaney (5), and Donovan (2). We also have a 90lbs lovable Boxer named Jake. We currently live in the DC area, but that is about to change.
As a military family, we have traveled literally all over the world. And we are now about to embark on our next adventure as we recently received orders to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany! This move is completely unexpected, but we are thrilled. We have never been to Germany, so we look at this as an amazing opportunity for us and our young children.
However, this is not our first time at the rodeo. My husband and I married in March of 2002, and in April 2002, we moved to Gaeta, Italy. As a new couple just starting out, we jumped into those orders with all four feet and totally blind. We welcomed the opportunity, but it was hard!! I wish blogging was big back then - boy, would I have stories to tell! This time, although excited, we put much more forethought and debate into taking these orders - now knowing a little bit more what to expect. But overall, when we decided to take the orders and discovered that we were both genuinely happy about it, we knew we made the right decision for our family.
So the purpose of this blog is to record our family's move to and life in Germany for the next two years. I'm expecting many more stories to tell, and hope this will give me an opportunity to share them with my family and friends!!
As a military family, we have traveled literally all over the world. And we are now about to embark on our next adventure as we recently received orders to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany! This move is completely unexpected, but we are thrilled. We have never been to Germany, so we look at this as an amazing opportunity for us and our young children.
However, this is not our first time at the rodeo. My husband and I married in March of 2002, and in April 2002, we moved to Gaeta, Italy. As a new couple just starting out, we jumped into those orders with all four feet and totally blind. We welcomed the opportunity, but it was hard!! I wish blogging was big back then - boy, would I have stories to tell! This time, although excited, we put much more forethought and debate into taking these orders - now knowing a little bit more what to expect. But overall, when we decided to take the orders and discovered that we were both genuinely happy about it, we knew we made the right decision for our family.
So the purpose of this blog is to record our family's move to and life in Germany for the next two years. I'm expecting many more stories to tell, and hope this will give me an opportunity to share them with my family and friends!!
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