Exhaustion

I have so many things to blog about and just no time to actually get it down on screen. In addition to all of the usual PCS (permanent change of station) bullshit and my looming language test, we are busy making all of our last minute travel and personal visits. Last weekend I went back to Connecticut to visit my grandfather, who is currently home on hospice. I cannot explain what it is like to say goodbye to someone and know that it is the last time you will ever see them. It was a very surreal and emotional weekend. Totally worth doing but extremely upsetting at the same time. I don't know if my sister will blog more about it, but the one true highlight of the trip was being able to hang out with my little sister for the day (she flew all the way from Amsterdam).

This weekend Husband is in LA visiting friends and saying his goodbyes. I went and spent an awesome Friday night out with one of my BFFs from college.* We had a pretty busy day yesterday filled with Chuck E Cheese birthday parties and one adult going away get-together. Unfortunately, 2.3, as my dad likes to refer to him, came down with the explosive vomits last night so the rest of our weekend has been derailed with carpet scrubbing, multiple baths, and lots and lots of laundry. I stayed with him on the floor of my bathroom last night because he kept puking in his sleep, so I'm having trouble getting motivated to do anything (plus he already threw up again this morning, so our plans to go see the Lorax are going to have to wait).

Next weekend Husband will be in TX visiting the step-kids over their spring break. It wouldn't be so bad, but C has a volleyball tournament, which generally last all day from about 6am when we leave the house to after 9pm. No fun when you have to bring the whole gang along and entertain them all day! I'd consider just dropping her off, but the tournament location is about 2-2 1/2 hours away, so that is out of the question this time around. Then we have just one last weekend here in DC before I jet off to FL for 3 weeks of Reserve duty at my old unit. I come back on a Friday night and that following morning at the crack of dawn we are off to the airport with three kids, one cat, and a three-legged dog in tow to start our journey to Manila.

There is so much to get done and so little time to do it. We do have the household move all set up and ready to execute, only the sorting of things into the different shipment remains. The car shipment is set, the pet shipment is set (other than the USDA certificate, which has to be handled within 10 days of leaving the country, so it will be up to Husband to handle it while I am out of town), school withdrawal dates are set, still no visas but I'll be calling to check on their status on Monday. There's still the issue of T&V's passports and visas**,  homeschool for C***, getting transferred from the traditional Reserves to the IMA****, various insurance arrangements and transfers for everything (car, health, renters, dental...), and so much more. To say that it is overwhelming would be an understatement!

* Just a side note that I wanted to do a post about how awesome it is have a friend like L. We have been friends for over a decade and though we drift in and out of each others lives across continents and life events, she is the rare friend that I can visit with and feel like no time has passed at all. I think that quality of friendship is so hard to find, and I am super blessed to have her in my life.


** they need medical clearances before I can have them added to my orders to Manila - a fact which would have been great to know oh say a year ago when I first asked about what I needed to do!! But there's no use in dwelling on the incompetence of others.


*** missing out on two full months of the 7th grade is just not an option, SMA (special maintenance allowance) fell through because of time requirements, financial issues, and because it would have been impossible to coordinate with when the step-kids usually come over the summer.


**** I have to get current on all of my annual requirements (PT test, physical, dental, shots, etc.) before I can make the transition. The good news is that I already have a job waiting for me at PACOM, so it's just a matter of getting to FL, doing my thang, and getting it documented so we can fast-track the transition process.