It has been a good holiday for us. Jared made it home for Christmas. We were not sure that would happen so it was an extra blessing. It has been a gamble. We had him this year. We did not last year, we did the year before, we did not the year before that, we … well... you get the point. It is good enough to say we had him this year.
It is difficullt to have very many family traditions that include Jared. Something I enjoy tremendously is sitting with him on Christmas morning watching the children open gifts. Sometime I think Jared is more surprised at what he got them than they are. I should probably better inform him of that. Lol
I have been rather attached to Jared since he has been home. There is no telling how much time we will have before he sails again and school resumes tomorrow. I confess. Retirement for Jared looks good to me and he is mere weeks from eligible but there have been no discussions of it so...
Out next assignment is on the horizon though and much to Jared's disappointment, it will likely be a shore assignment. I will not complain. It would be good to have a “normal” life at least for a short time. Jared is not a fan of serving ashore but he will concede the necessity of it for a well rounded career. Let the assignment shopping begin!
The children are becoming curious as to where we will live next. I tell them it will be a place they have never lived before except for Chao lei but he was too young to remember. Jun wishes to start language classes to prepare for the move. “America speaks English” I tell her. She seems disappointed. She will have to be content with speaking her Japanese/Spanish/English hybrid she speaks now. Or perhaps she can learn to use each of those separately and at the correct moments.
I tend to believe that after Jared retires, we will find ourselves completely at a loss for what to do. What will our new normal look like? With no mention of retirement, I suppose we should not dwell on it to much for now. It makes no sense to stress when there is nothing to stress about yet.
The one assignment my dad had when he was a AF fighter pilot where he wasn't flying much was when we lived in Hawaii. I think my parents went with that one more for the adventure of the place than anything else, but he HATED flying a desk and was much happier when we left. Guys like him and your husband do not join the military because they want to work in an office, unfortunately for the nerves of their families. Anyway! I hope your assignment shopping yields the perfect fit for your family.
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