She Said: Post Research and Spouse Training

I have never been so happy to see our apartment as I was tonight when I walked through the door. Given that this is not a blog about how much I dislike flying through O'Hare Airport or about my terrible experiences on United Airlines, I'll spare you the details of my trip home. Suffice it to say that it was not fun and I arrived in MN at 3:00 in the morning last night. Yes, I did still work today.

I too am very sorry that I have not posted lately. Brian and I have literally been glued to computers, books, reading files, and whatever other media we could get our hands on to do our post research. It has been a blast! We are both exhausted, but this experience has been even more fun than I ever could have imagined. Putting a description, name and place to where we might possible be posted is absolutely thrilling!

This weekend brought both anxiety and calm to my life. In spouse training I had the opportunity to meet other talented men and women who are also leaving their own careers to go on a journey with their significant others. It was really reassuring to hear others who had the same fears and worries that I do about seeking employment overseas. The trainers talked constantly about how foreign service spouses are forever "reinventing" themselves, and that was exciting to me. I don't know what is ahead for me, but the idea that I could be given the opportunity to be an international businesswoman, a teacher, a mother, a volunteer, and so much more that I don't even know about is quite a blessing. How many people get this opportunity? I found myself really getting excited about this experience and feeling very thankful for all the talents I've been given.

While on the one hand I felt very reassured, I began to feel the stress of moving and all of the logistics that lie ahead of us. I realized that the next couple of weeks leading up to flag day are going to be absolutely chaotic in my life. Between the immunization records, sorting our belongings for packing, deciding what to sell and what to keep, and perhaps enticing my mother into "helping me with a garage sale (pretty please!)," I will be a busy woman. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Brian and I have tried to reach out to as many extended family members and friends as possible in the past few weeks and let them know that Brian accepted a position with the foreign service and about the big adventure. It has been really crazy, and we may have inadvertently missed some people, so please do share our news and our blog with those we have missed. I'm off to read some more about foreign lands...