Thursday started bright and early when I left out for an eight hour drive to see my wonderful husband around 7 am. I decided to take our pooch, Lucy along for the ride because I was eager to see her reunited with her Pops :) After stopping only twice, once for gas and once to let Lucy do her thing and stretch her legs, we arrived on base and got checked into our pet-friendly TLF. Then the short wait took place while my love made his way to us... and this is how the reunion went down:
To see the look on his face combined with her mini freak out (she was preoccupied with the dog walking by on the other side of the parking lot or this would've been way crazier!) warms my heart. She's missed him so very much and he has been waiting for the moment when he could get her sloppy, wet kisses again!
Once our little family was reunited, we spent the rest of the weekend doing pretty much nothing and loving it. Since he's in ITP (which basically translates to controlled freedom - he can do what he wants on the weekends, but he can't leave base or wear civilian clothes, and he still has a midnight curfew) we were limited to what we could do, and the base is quite boring. Saturday he volunteered to be a flag carrier in the St. Patrick's Day parade and he loved it. (Pictures to come later - he ordered a disc of "professional pictures" so I didn't take any.) He played a lot of Skyrim, I cooked him awesome meals, we went out and grabbed lunch a few times and wandered the BX, and we got plenty of quality time together :) He was very exhausted, as his week was filled with briefings and early PT shifts, so he spent an hour or so each day in this state:
The most eventful thing that occurred during the trip was... drum roll please... he got his unofficial "official" orders, meaning - we found out where our (his, whatever) first duty station is and exactly what job he'll be doing when we get there. It isn't "official" until 30 days from his graduation date, but there's about a 95% chance that this is the real deal, so I'm just gonna say that we are set in stone here. Are you guys ready for this... we will be moving to and living, for up to four years. in:
Italy
Holy crapoli, right?!?! I am totally freaking out! Part of me is uber excited, and the other part of me is compiling a mile long list in my head of everything that has to be taken care of to make this move possible. Immunizations, passports, visas, shipping a vehicle over vs. buying one there, getting all our belongings packed and shipped in a cargo container, learning to speak Italian, purchasing a slingbox and setting it up because I cannot be without my American television, having to find a place to live once we get there because there isn't on-base housing!!!! And the list continues. I'm eager to see the sights and learn the history and explore the continent, but to know we'll be away from our family and friends for FOUR FREAKING YEARS is so overwhelming. The hubs has been amazing in helping me come to terms with this life-changing news, and I've definitely been over-emotional about it. He's been patient and calm and understanding and positive. Overall I know this will be a "great experience," I just need some time to adjust to this GINORMOUS change and it's not something that'll happen overnight.
So there it is... all of you that have been eagerly awaiting the news and those of you who had no idea this was even a possibility... there. it. is. The majority of my family is excited for me and not looking forward to missing me, but it is what it is and we are headed to Italy in June of this year! I don't have many answers to most of my questions, but my love will be attending briefings and having one-on-one sessions and we'll be assigned a sponsor so that we can become fully informed. If you have questions, I'll answer what I can but due to OPSEC some things might not be for public consumption :)
I'm already looking forward to my next visit to see the love of my life in less than two weeks, at which time he'll be in ATP (which is total weekend freedom - he can leave base, he can wear civies, he can spend the night with me!!!!!!) It'll be a regular thing, hopefully every other week. I'm planning a trip to the beach, some amazing, fresh seafood for the Airman to go into a food coma over, and maybe a casino just for the hell of it!! I'll be splitting a large portion of my time over the next month(ish) in MS with my husband, and I've never been so excited to be away from home before! Getting to speak with him nightly and see him in person is fantastic but this physical separation with all these stipulations cannot end quickly enough!
Until next time...
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