His career change involves approximately 10 months of schooling, six that could be accompanied in an awesome locale. That would be a refreshing change from nowhere OK and KS. The kids and I would be able to meet up with some good friends from OK, hang out at the beach, go to Disney, Busch Gardens, etc.
But then I think, "In just about the same amount of time, I could my finish my degree and start working in the field I have always wanted". Our youngest will be starting school next school year and would be the perfect time for me to follow that dream. In order to do this, I would move back to the area we are from with the kids. I know my daughter would be in a good school and the little guy could go to pre-K and daycare at our church. The cost of living is significantly cheaper so DH could have an efficiency apt near the school and I could rent a house for me and the kids and still be under BAH.
However, both plans will only work if we can sell or rent out our current home. So that is another area where my mind is going back, back, back & forth. Sell or rent? Put it on the market and hope it sells quickly so we don't have to worry about it or rent it out in hopes we get orders back here after his schooling is done? While KS is not super awesome, we live in a nice neighborhood in a nice town with good schools and there are definitely worse places the Army can send us...like Ft. Sill or Ft. Hood.
Then the struggle over whether it's selfish to pursue my career goals begins. In the 5 years we've been married and he's been in the Army he's only been "home" for half of it between training and deployments. Would it be wrong to separate our family when it doesn't have to be? Doesn't the Army do that enough? He's switching from being a light wheeled mechanic to an EOD tech (bomb squad for the Army). What if (God forbid) something happened to him? Would I regret that decision to pursue my dream? Or do I pursue my dream so that if the unthinkable happens, I have a good career that will make sure our families needs are met?
As one of my friends blogged today, where is that giant arrow sign that says "This Way", showing us the right path? It's possible things will work out regardless of which path I choose, but if they didn't would I regret the choice? *sigh*
Back, back, back & forth.....
well...good luck with whichever way life leads you! :-)
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard to make that sort of decision, but if it will help...EOD deploys once a year for six months at a time not to mention the VIPs. It is a hard field on families and the IEDs are only getting more complicated. Is there no way you could continue your school while he's at Eglin? I would say that it's important for you to follow your dreams, but with him going to EOD I would say that it would be better to be together for that time. If you have any questions you can always ask, except about the Hurt Locker. Terrible. Rob did it for 10 years, plus he's training current techs now...building training devices and such. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jonique. There's a slim possibility I could work on it in Florida, but considering all my gen ed is done and it's core nursing classes, it's all about getting into a program...which is not an easy task these days even with great grades.
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