Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Life is a Tornado

Life as of late has been a wild, massive tornado. Everywhere I look there is twisting, turning, nauseating change and turmoil.

Some of the changes are good. Red has started first grade. Woot woot! Yeah for school!!! Stinky is in a new class at Preschool and is rocking it. His teachers actually seek us out to tell us how well behaved he has been. Never had THAT happen before.

The latest big shock wave is that we received our orders FINALLY. And we are moving to Hawaii. Go ahead...be jealous. Let the envy wash over you.

Done?

OK. So for most people the news sound WONDERFUL. Which on many levels it is. Lovely beaches, perfect weather, a "two year vacation on the Navy's dime." Right? And those are great things, don't get me wrong. But the actual logistics of it all? Horrendous.

Moving 3 kids and 2 dogs is going to be the death of me. The schools are terrible. There is a 6 month long process to get the dogs over there. Ubu our black lab is currently too fat to fly...seriously. So we are going on a diet.

The housing wait is 6+ months long. We could live in a hotel forever.

My bitching fest could go on forever, so I will pause. Not stop....pause. So be prepared for more whining and complaining in future posts.

I have been so distracted by the orders that I have been unable to maintain my blog but hope to catch up here now that I have a little more stability in my life.

The hardest and saddest part to me is leaving my family. (Dan's family???? SIONARA!!!!) The thought of taking my kids away from their grandparents is very slowly fracturing the very heart of me. I am so jealous of their relationship with Grandma and Poppa. Living a mile away and running over for "sneak attack" hugs and kisses, just to say goodnight. My kids have no idea the change that is ahead. And my very core aches at the thought. We are a close family and there is an incredibly tight bond there. So I know the next two years will be hard, but the relationship will remain close. But in the meantime, the change for us is going to be drastic. And I dread it.

But everyday I wake up, take a deep breath, put my head down and move forward into a new, unknown adventure for our future. It should be an interesting ride. Aloha.

9 comments:

Dr.John said...

Just take it one step at a time. All moves are hard.
But you are going to Hawaii.
I am also part of a close family so I nows how hard that is.
But one step at a time.

Ginny said...

Two years will fly by. Enjoy the adventure. Red will have wonderful memories! Grandparents can visit.

ablykins said...

Congrats on your orders to Hawaii! Having done 2 International moves (both of which had odd quarantine requirments for dogs), I can understand how overwhelmed you are feeling! Just breath deeply and take it one day at a time! I'm not sure if you have utilized your local FFSC service much in your currently location, but they can help a lot with big moves and transitional stuff! Good luck and hang in there!

Stacy "Pirate Queen" said...

Hey Sister dear, We moved only 8 hrs away and left 2 sets of loving grandparents! We still only get a 2 weeks a year if we are lucky. The kids treasure grandma & poppa even more when they are away. The kids will be fine - it's hardest on the parents.

It's been almost 3 years and Robert and I still struggle to get time together because we don't have grandparents here to rescue us when we need a night off. Find a church as soon as you can and ask them about adults/college students who like to do child care. You guys want to find some support and take time for yourselves. Don't try to do it all on your own. We will be praying for you and love you. If we win the lottery we will all fly over. heheheh

Mz.Elle said...

Wow,that's going to be exciting and scary at the same time!
One little trick? When I feel that weird stressed feeling? I tell myself it's excitement and work through it based on that. You can kinda trick your mind and make everything that much more bearable!

Unknown said...

ALOHA & Congratulations! Like Aime said, check out the local FFSC and really utilize spouse groups and other support groups within the military. They can give awesome advice on dealing with a family PCS. Do they assign a sponsor to you for Hawaii? That sucks about housing. Will you utilize the Dodds schools? The schools I've heard outside the gate are horrendous. (that's why as civilians we wouldn't except something there) but I've heard the Dodds schools are fairly good and the teachers are trained on dealing with children and transition. GOOD LUCK GINGERS!

Caro said...

Hawaii, wow! I hope the grandparents fly out to visit often.

You'll still blog, right?

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHA, I read this as life is a Tomato! I was like really how is life a tomato? HAhAHAHA

Sarah Louise said...

Moving, blecch. Living in a hotel for 6 months, blecch. I never did the "international" move as an adult, but as a child, it was horrible. So I guess the one advantage you have is that the kids are excited. Because I never was. What? Poland? (The irony is that I can't wait to go back, someday.)

It can be hard on all the relationships. It makes it a teeny tiny bit easier I think with blogs and email. (All my moves were pre-1995.)

Looking back, I know that I am closer to my family because sometimes we were the only people that knew each other.

The other ladies with the "get a church" and bond with the local DOD community have the key.

Good luck n'at,
SL