TulipGirl

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In 6 hours and 45 minutes, our Flag Day ceremony starts. . . the moment when we learn where and when we’ll be going. . . posts scattered around the world. On pins and needles. . .

I’ve confused friends by mentioning Flag Day, since the US holiday is June 14th, and Flag Day our date-with-destiny is June 7th. This is a great summary of what “our” Flag Day is.

I have a gut feeling about a certain African country, our daring friends have placed their bets on a place in Central America but is hoping for Asia. We have a lot of places we’d love to go, many more that would be fun, and just a couple that are. . . ummm. . . let’s just say we have our fingers crossed about one or two places where we’d rather have another family enjoy the exotic life there. But the kids are excited and I know that anywhere we are posted will be an adventure, will be a great place for our family.

You know that bubbly, anxious-happy feeling in your belly before a big event? I’ve had that lately. Not constantly, like the weeks before our wedding, but that giddy feeling has caught me by surprise throughout the past week.

And the reason for this excitement? In just a few short days we find out where around the world we’ll be moving and when. . . Africa? Asia? Europe? (Stuck a year here in DC?)

To back up a bit. . . those who know us in real life know most of the scoop. Online I’ve been a bit more circumspect. I haven’t been sure what guidelines or boundaries would be best, how up front I could be. . . how transparent I wanted to be. . . But Hubby and I have talked it over and blogging is such an important part of our our family journaling, such an important part of our support structure (especially when we are overseas) and so it’s time to share our good news.

Hubby has been hired as a Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State. What this basically means is that he has the coolest of cool jobs, that all the bits of knowledge he’s gathered through the years are useful in an integrated way. (Did you know that the FSWE has questions on jazz?) All of this life and work experiences — military, missionary, professor — have been good preparation for this career. The gypsy life we’ve had so far has been better resume building for the foreign service than if we had carefully structured our lives as preparation. And no, to the multiple friends who have asked, Hubby is not a spy. And we get to travel! With the kids! Explore new places, new languages, new foods! The boys have been spending hours pouring over maps and atlases, reading about countries on our bid list and deciding where they want to go (and don’t want to go!)

Insert standard disclaimer here. The views and writings on this blog do not represent any governmental entity, ecclesiastical body, family member or other formal or informal group. Ideas shared, beliefs explained, observations made, and causes promoted are purely my own.

I’ve been blogging here at TulipGirl for over six years now. . . I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to hide our adventures, joys and struggles. On the other hand, my blogging can have an effect on Hubby’s career similar to when we were on the mission field. I know how to use discretion. But it was easier before when Hubby’s supervisor was someone I knew and worked with regularly myself, and not an unknown with an unclear idea of what is and isn’t unacceptable.

Yet, here we are, and here we keep track of our family.

Back to the giddy, bubbly feelings. . . We’ve been in the DC area for just over three weeks. Next Monday is a much anticipated day for those going through FSO training, Flag Day. Flag Day is when we find out both where we are going, and when it is most likely based on the training Hubby is requird to have for that particular post. On our bid list are about 10 different job categories, about 60 different countries, with the opportunity to learn about 15 languages. While Hubby has extra brownie points with State for his mad Russian language skillz, it’s not likely we’ll end up in a Russian speaking country this go around. (Next time? Almost definitely.)

So what do the kids think? I keep getting that question, and in all honesty — they are thrilled. Yet, Florida has been their home for the past five years and their memories of Ukraine and moving are faded. Moving every two to three years will be new to them. It will be challenging. I grew up nomadic, and while I loved it, I also remember it being hard. I remember being homesick (for me, “homesick” usually meant missing my Maw Maw; when we moved to Illinois, it meant missing the warmth and relaxed lifestyle of Gtmo.) We’ve gone through some TCK struggles in the past. I’m not naive, or think it will be easy for them — in spite of their current excitement. And yet. . . and yet, what I remember from my own growing up years is moving with my family every few years, new adventures, travels. . . driving across the country with laughter and singing. . . my sister being my best friend. . . lots of laughter, and always a close family. I know my kids are going to be angry-sad-cranky-struggle-frustrated. But I believe we are also going to have the strong, close family — and memories of adventures and fun.

So, this is why we are in DC, giddy and going to new places.