Our orders are up in July. Which means that our whole family will be moving to the other coast before too long. And while I have spent almost 4 years in this town, and tried hard to put a positive spin on it, I will finally just come out and say that I really HATE this place. I know people will take offense to that — people who are familiar with and fond of this tiny desert town in the middle of absolutely nowhere, at least. So I need to make it clear that my dislike of this place in no way relates to the people I’ve come to know while we’ve been stationed here. And in many ways, this town has been very good to me. I was able to get a job at a relatively prestigious company (because very few talented people with any skills worth having want to live here, thus the job market is pretty easy to navigate); I made some good friends (military spouses stranded together atop a volcano or on a deserted island would befriend each other in much the same manner, I suspect); and I was able to become involved with the community (nothing snarky to add here…). And I can respect that some people actually choose to live here. But aside from our beautiful home, which we renovated completely over a three year period (which having another kid and living with 2 crazy boys), this place is desolate and depressing, and I’ll be so glad to watch it fade in my rear view mirror. The heat I can handle (it’s a dry heat afterall — but 120 is still pretty f*ing hot); it’s the wind that I hate. Sustained winds of 25-45 miles per hour are no fun for anyone. Especially a long haired gas permeable contact lens wearer.
And though I am eager to leave, I’d like to just go ahead and fast forward the next 5 months. They involve attempting to sell our house (at a great loss certainly, if we can sell at all); supervising packing; cleaning the house; getting across the country with 2 small boys; figuring out where to live on the other side (buy again because we are insane or base housing for which there is a 6 month wait?); and what my job situation will or won’t be out there. A teensy bit stressful. At least I’ve found a school for the boys that I believe will be good and they’re both pre-registered to begin in August 1st. Small victories. They’ll actually be at the same school on the same schedule, so that will be very nice.
Anyway, as the move date draws nearer, I am more and more stressed about all the details that I can’t simply shove into alignment. Waiting is not my strong point…
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