That Time the Marine Corps Got the Last Laugh

First of all, its been forever since I have blogged. For a while, blogging took a back seat because of school. But then I graduated, and got my first real civilian job. On top of that, Nick left back in September for 6 months to attend the Marine Corps' "The Basic School" (AKA TBS). He's gone again until September of this year attending Ground Supply Officers' School. Oh yeah, I have these two little humans that I've had to keep alive! But this is a familiar life to most military families! A lot of my civilian friends look shocked when I tell them Nick's been gone since September, and even more shocked at my lackadaisical attitude about it. I mean, really though, what can I do about it? I could have gone to Virginia with him for 6 months. That would have meant I would have had to pull my kids out of school, stick them in a new school in a new state, then pull them back out of school, to move to North Carolina for 13 weeks and put them in another new school in another new state. I'm confused just reading that last (possibly run-on) sentence. Anyway, I got a lot of catching up to do on this old blog.

I do need to update my blog since the name of it changed. I'll get around to it...eventually. That means, "it's not on my list of priorities right now."

So let's get to this blog post, shall we?

The last time I blogged, it was to announce our family's next duty station! Okinawa, Japan! What a dream come true! We were absolutely thrilled and ecstatic that the Marine Corps actually gave us our FIRST choice of duty station! We had plans to travel, expose our children to new cultures, and just bond as a family. Our family started making plans to move overseas right away. There is an overseas "checklist" of things that we have to complete before the government would allow us to move. Everything from medical, dental, and special passports (more on that later). In fact, Nick went ahead and sold his (already paid off) truck because we would not be taking any vehicles to Okinawa with us. I was busy at home making plans to sell furniture we couldn't take, and downsizing.

Then, on a random weekday in July, I got a phone call from Nick at around lunchtime. He never calls me during the day, so I thought it was strange.
"Hey, so I have some bad news."

A million thoughts ran through my head. We are under contract to sell our home, so my first thought was, "oh no, the buyer backed out!" I leaned against my kitchen counter, and took a big breath, "what is it..."

"I just got done talking to the monitor for the last hour..."

If you're unfamiliar with Marine Corps lingo, each job field in the Marine Corps has a person assigned to it called the "monitor". The monitor's job is to place Marines in billets around the Marine Corps based on "the needs of the Corps". Basically, he/she decides where and when a Marine will be moving. So when I heard "monitor", I knew immediately that our orders had changed.

"We're not going to Okinawa anymore. We're going to Yuma."
"Are you serious? Seriously? Don't joke around about that, Nick! Oh my gosh, you just sold your truck!"

I seriously had to look at my phone to see what the date was. An April Fool's prank was the first thing that crossed my mind. After the initial shock wore off, he explained why his orders had changed. In vague terms, the Marine that was supposed to go to Yuma had some serious personal stuff happen to him which meant he could no longer go. Nick was literally the only Marine in his class that had not checked into his unit, because he was the only Marine slated to go overseas. The billet in Yuma took precedence over the one in Okinawa.

What could I do? So many people asked me if I was mad. Mad? No. Shocked? Sort of. I mean, this IS the Marine Corps. Nothing surprises me. Our family got orders to Boston while Nick was in Afghanistan. In fact, I was the one who found out, and had to call the poor guy while he was in the midst of a combat deployment in Afghanistan to tell him that he was going to Boston. Being mad about Yuma isn't going to do anything for me. It isn't going to change the circumstance. I drank some wine that night, went to bed, and the sun rose the next day as it always does. I had to start planning a move to the desert instead of the tropical paradise I had been imagining since March.

So since we got the news that fateful day, our family is officially in escrow on a beautiful home in Yuma. We have done research on schools and activities for the kids in the area. We have really tried to embrace the change. Some days, I'm excited. Other days, I want to cry.

Here is what is keeping me positive...

God. So cliché, right? In 10 years of marriage, Nick and I will have lived in 4 states (counting Arizona) and 6 addresses. And in every single place that we have lived, we have always made the greatest friends (yes y'all, even in Boston where I hated my life). In the places I was the most "down", God has always given me friends who pour into our family.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." -Proverbs 3:5-6

This verse really spoke to me. I tried so hard to make sense of why this sudden change of plans was happening. Reading this verse was such a great reminder to "forget about my own reasons", and just trust in God. I know He has such a great purpose for our family in Arizona, and I am excited for the adventure that awaits.

I hope to blog a little more, and get back into it. If you follow my instagram (@semperag_blog), you can pretty much keep up with our life! 

Here is 3/4 of our fam..

You know..."Living our best life..." without Nick for the past year (ish).