2.

Made a decent amount of progress today!  Picked up my EFM paperwork, requested K’s medical records (they say it will take 15 days- yikes!), picked up paperwork from my pulmonologist and gynecologist, went to a dr. appointment and K had a playdate at the park. Did you catch all of that?  K and I went to FIVE different offices today.  My house is a mess, but that’s ok, that’s what tomorrow is for!

People have asked me if I’m excited about going.  The answer that flies out of my mouth is no.  Right now I’m looking at all the things I stand to lose by moving: seeing my parents just about every 3 weeks, my church, seeing our Chicago family & friends (and all the things we will be overseas for like my brother's graduation, Jared's 21st birthday in Vegas, Ethan's 1st birthday.... those are all within like the first year), my familiarity/ comfort with my life here… 

It’s funny, really.  I hated California when I moved here.   I wanted to move back to Chicago after 6 weeks of being here. The people aren’t warm like they are back home.  People in San Diego are very good at keeping their distance until disaster strikes. I’ve been through wildfires, earthquakes, and a county-wide blackout.  People come together to make it through the crisis of the moment and it feels wonderful.  It feels like home; but then things go back to normal, well, California-normal and it gets cold.   But I’ve come to love it here.  What California lacks in warmth it makes up for in endless opportunities.  There is so much to see here and and endless list of things to do.  I always tell visitors I could keep them busy for a month and I wouldn’t even scratch the surface of what San Diego has to offer and I'm not exaggerating.  I can’t imagine leaving here.  I will miss it deeply.

I know once we get to Japan and get settled into our life I will find things to love.  I’ll have more patience for Japan because California taught me that even if somewhere doesn’t have the familiar ‘home feel’ when I get there it doesn’t mean I can't find a new definition of what home feels like.  I will adjust.  We all will. It just may take a little while. 

[I’ve been told, over and over again, people who go to Japan end up loving it there and don’t want to come back.  I’m fairly certain I will never feel like that. ]

In telling family and friends about this blog I realized not everyone is on the same page, so here’s where we stand:

The Mr has orders to report to Okinawa NLT (No Later Than… I love the military’s passion for acronyms.  It’s fun.) May 31.  I believe he gets 30 days leave before his report date.  We haven’t decided how we’re going to spend that time yet.

Here is how this situation may play out:

1.  We all pass our medical screening by Navy medicine and we go to Japan for 3 years.

2.  I fail our medical screening, can’t go, and a) the Mr is sent to Japan for 1 year by himself or b) the monitor (the man who decides where to send Marines) scraps the Japan orders altogether and sends us somewhere else. 

I’m planning for situation 1 and hoping for situation 2b.  Through it all, I know God is in control and if He puts me in Japan then that is where I am supposed to be.  I have peace with whatever happens.  I’m not saying it won’t be hard and I’m not sad about going, but I have peace about it and that is a great blessing.