I have a morning to myself....well, atleast a couple of hours. And, if you know me well...where do I go with computer in hand??? Yes, that's right...Starbucks...my home away from home from home from home...HA!
What's funny is I've had a post in the back of my head knowing that I have to eventually sit down and write it all out. So, when I sat down this morning and looked at my homescreen on my computer which is the first time in weeks...and checked all the blogs I follow...I chuckled when I saw Sarah's
post...well, then I cried...but then I laughed again at Mason's organizational skills(he and his uncle eric get along wonderfully)...
And, wow...it's really been a month since I last posted anything...it feels like a year, but then it feels like a day. Now..as a follow-up to that unimaginable high of knowing we were going to USAFA for atleast 4 years....about two weeks later plans changed, drastically.(sorta..and the sorta I'll explain later on).
It was a Monday...nothing out of the usual. We had Karen, Josh's OT that morning, we then went to Starbucks, came home and we were playing out front. I had been talking to Eric through text messages all morning because I hadn't been feeling very well...but, anyways, around noon or so he called and said that he was on his way home for lunch! YAY! That is always exciting to have him home unexpectedly during the middle of the day. As soon as he got out of the car I knew something wasn't quite right because I asked him when he had to be back and he said an hour or actually I might not go back..I was like what?? HUH? Then he told me he had called Becca(our neighbor/friend/aunt/cant live without) and he was taking the kids over there for a little bit because he had something he needed to talk to me about. Yes, exactly I feel like getting sick all over again as I'm writing this out. Anyways, the kids go over there and I'm in the kitchen waiting and all those awful thoughts run through my head of what is the worst thing right now that could happen....well, one of them is orders changed. I told him what I was thinking when he came back inside and he said yeah, that's what happened. His orders changed and it's bad, it's really bad, but it's going to be ok...but, it's bad. He said that he was now having to do a one year remote assignment to Osan AB in South Korea. For those of you who may not know what that means...it's 12 months in Korea without his family. I think I asked him if he was kidding because at that point I'd go anywhere as long as we were together....well, he wasn't and then I ran to the bathroom and was ill....Eric was very patient with me and the only thing I could say was I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...I don't really remember everything that happened next because now thinking back...I went into shock. Although, Eric had had 6 or so hours that morning to process it all himself. He goes in early...as in 5am early to work out, quiet time, get work done, etc...well, he got an email telling him this news early that morning. So, later I told him he had handled everything very well in regards to how he told me(without the kids around) and then he went and got them so that I could have time to myself, try to process it, and make necessary phone calls. Interestingly enough, the one person I needed to talk to was my dad. I'm not sure if it was because I thought somewhere my dad could fix the problem...I mean obviously he couldn't, but if there's one person who could figure out this situation it's him, right? Well, when I called him he did not go into 'fixing it' mode, but just told me that all I need to do right now is cry...Which, is really all I needed to do or really could do. So, thanks dad for letting me cry on the phone for about 20 minutes... :-)
Having been processing this now for a month or so I realize that it was so shocking because we were so high from the news of going to USAFA and then had this blow. Then also, I was confused because NOWHERE did ANYONE communicate to me or Eric really, that a remote tour was a possibility. I mean, I know they happen and almost a gaurantee in the Air Force, but no one we knew...who had been in for 5 plus years had ever done one. I learned that's because the majors/lt. colonels we know are teachers/faculty and are protected from remote tours. I found out that the former military residency director did do a remote tour right out of residency. Anyways, as you can see I'm still dealing with my anger/frustration in not being prepared for this being an option...I mean, deploying for 6 months we knew and we were expecting soon, but...I just wish that there had been better communication in assignments as to what could be expected. Ok...I'm done with that(for now)....so, after the tears, shock, the phone calls, the hugs from friends, the hot chocolate brought over and the shared shock with friends(thanks Julie and Becca) on that day we then faced tons of decisions to be made. So...this is where we realized that the Lord has been and will be sovereign in all of this. My mom was at CBS training in Colorado Springs the day this happened and I really wasn't sure if I wanted to bother her with the news...well, I wasn't sure how I could get through telling her everything. Anyways...I called her, told her, and her response was shock too, but very quickly was ok, we can do this, we can get through this...tell Eric everything will be ok....I chuckle looking back because my mom had the response I would think my dad would have and my dad responded the way I thought my mom would...kinda funny. :-) My mom then had, what we call, a 'God appointment'....after we got off the phone she was to go into a meeting for more training and well, couldn't walk in...the lady at the door went over to where my mom left to go sit down and asked her to talk to her. My mom started talking and the lady stopped her and asked...wait, are you Laura Pittman's mom?? Yes, so crazy. This lady that my mom was talking to ends up being the class coordinator for the CBS class I joined in Colorado Springs...so, the class I will be going to(yes, we are still moving) was able to immediately start praying for us, knows what to expect when we get there, and the Lord gets all the glory in this situation. Going back to the decisions Eric and I were having to make for the next year began with where me and kids should live. The assignments officer informed us that Eric is able to get his follow-on assignment from Korea to USAFA...which means after Korea he'll be at USAFA....this also means that we could possibly be in Colorado for 5 years. That's pretty cool! When Eric and I started talking about all the options it was so clear that God had gone before us in everything and had prepared us for this situation. Our house in Illinois is sold...which happened in 3 days while Eric was on a medical mission trip in Nicaragua, we found a house in the Springs that we love that has everything we need and then a whole lot more and in our price range(which we found BEFORE the orders changed to Korea...now, we see again, God planning it out so that there is a place for someone to come and stay for awhile and have their own area), a realtor there that is truly a Godsend(
Benjamin Day plug here if you ever need any realtor needs or anything in the Springs area)...a CBS class that has already embraced us, and many more things that I'm sure I'll think of later. This post really only covers the shock and processing(still) of Eric going to Korea for a year...there have been many more things happening in the last 3 weeks which I'll update on soon...my fingers are tired and I only have so much time. I'm just grateful I was finally able to get this out....So, thank you Eric for giving me the morning to myself! :-) This is going to be hard, difficult and really, I can't even imagine how everything will go, but we know and the people closely surrounding and supporting us know that there is a bigger plan...that the Lord is not surprised in any of this....He is with us...will be with us...and we want to glorify Him through this next year. I'm in the process too of convincing Eric to do a blog for everyone...no real pressure, but just something to update every now and then with pictures and stories...so, now you can help me coerce him too... :-) Please continue praying for us...that is also helping to sustain us through this...I will update soon with all the other stories...hopefully, they will be more comical than this one!! and with pictures...one of the things that happend was my computer crashed and can't be revived...so, I'm using the laptop from my mom(THANK YOU) but I don't have any pics on it yet.
God is good! I'm excited to keep you all updated on His blessings, our trials, and adventures that will happen this next year!!!
