Decision 2006 . . .

As many of you know, we thought the military would be moving us to a new location (preferably closer to the West Coast) sometime next summer. Well it turns out that Uncle Sam is having budget problems and has decided to extend all Air Force personnel (minus pilots) to four year tours. While ordinarily that would be a great thing, allowing for more continuity, in our case it felt like a death sentence. The thought of another year of commuting and surviving another likely deployment seemed like too much to bear. We tried everything we could think of to get the Air Force to move us - we even considered going to Alabama where Garrett would become an instructor at an officer training school (not something he wanted to do), thinking it might be fun to try living in the South. Unfortunately, nothing worked. So then we figured it was time to cut our losses and say goodbye to military life, especially since they are trying to convince people to get out of the services by offering large amounts of voluntary separation pay. However, we love being in the military and really struggled with the decision of what would be best for us, especially since we had no clue what to do if we got out of the military. Finally, after a very long couple of days, a lot of stress, not much sleep, and a ton of praying, we made a decision last night . . . we are going to stay in the Air Force for a career and take whatever they throw at us. This means a couple of things. First, we will remain in New England (assuming they don't change the policy again) at least until Summer 2008. Second, it is a very strong possibility that Garrett will be deployed again for another six months during our time here. I hate the thought of this and know that I will question our decision if/when this happens but I also know that we made the right choice for us. Fortunately, we have wonderful families who have agreed to help out by coming out here for alternating six-week stints to help with the 'lil fish while I'm at work if Garrett does get deployed.


The best part about this whole ordeal is that it forced us to examine what we want and don't want. Although stressful, it was a great learning experience and we discovered quite a few goals and fears neither of us realized we had. We know that everything happens for a reason and perhaps the reason behind this speedbump was to figure out what we really want to do with our lives. Although we feel confident with our decision and know that it is right for us, we also know that there will be difficult times ahead and we ask that you keep us in your prayers.