Living la dolce vita

I have not written very frequently this month, and not for lack of desire, nor for lack of news. I’ve simply been swamped by my own life, drowning in the mire, and I’m finally emerging.

You may realize that I started my new job at the beginning of January. I’m a member service representative at a credit union. This essentially means that I am a teller, but I am able (well, I will be able) to do much more than basic account transactions. Without boring anyone with details, I’ll simply say that I am indescribably happy at my new job. I’m excited at the prospect of constantly learning more, and at having chances to re-invent and re-educate myself in new employment positions. Not a day has gone by that I have not been thankful for this new development in my life.

So, obviously the “mire” part has nothing to do with my own work. It all comes back to my husband’s job, or really to the Army’s occasional, multitudinous stupidity. Again, without flapping my tongue regarding details, it comes down to this simple fact: I was essentially without a spouse for the vast majority of this month. I know that tons of spouses deal with this for much longer; I’m sure they complain too. It really sucks. On top of taking care of everything, I still had to do things to take care of my husband because he wasn’t able to do any of them himself. With a sudden full-time work load, it was all a bit overwhelming. I’m glad it is over.

We’ve been living here for almost one year. In fact, I’ve been writing fairly faithfully in this blog for over a year now. I was so nervous last January. We had so much to do and so little time, and on top of everything I didn’t want to deal with the reality of saying “goodbye” to every single person I loved, except for the one I’d agreed to follow anywhere when I married him. I’m happy to realize that one year later, we’re doing better than ever. Yes, we miss our loved ones in the states all the time. The beauty of military life is that everyone is in the same boat, and if you are lucky, you can find true friendships that feel like a surrogate family. I believe we have found a second family here. Our ties don’t go back as far, but we all understand one another. Last night we had dinner at a favorite restaurant with some of our favorite people. It wasn’t a big occasion and I believe that every single person at the table had a cold, and yet as I sat there I couldn’t stop smiling. I feel the happiest and most comfortable I’ve felt in such a long time. So even when circumstances take the wind out of me… life is still unbelievably good.