You are doing WHAT!?!?

** What military people say when you get out before retirement.

That was the standard response when we started to share with people that Dad was ready to walk away from the Air Force on August 2, 2012.  It was certainly not news to us that this was a difficult conclusion to come to but as with everything we do it was a calculated and planned by us over the course of a couple of years.  So let's begin.

Not to be anti-feminist but the crux of any decision ultimately laid with Dad's happiness.  When I got engaged to J in 2002 it was no mystery that my career would probably not go very far as long as we stayed in the military.  No, I was never employed by the Air Force but trust me once you've been there  you understand you are living a life that is not entirely of your choosing, therefore this is a WE proposition.

J graduated pilot training on August 2, 2002.  On the same day we were engaged to be married.  This was no accident on J's part, he wanted to make sure I understood what being a part of his life meant and I pretty much did.  On that day he officially incurred 10 years of future service in the Air Force.  I had no illusions, I figured that was the day he incurred 18.75 more years in the Air Force on his way to retirement.

Fast forward to 2010 when as a family we decided that J's career was either headed down the path to military retirement or walking into a brand new life.  The best way to figure out his path was for him to deploy.  I know, "you let your husband DEPLOY voluntarily?!"  Crazy right?  Well not exactly.  Over the course of many years we had been saving here and there.  One of the best ways to boost the nest egg is a deployment.  Plus, J was feeling stagnant, which in the military is not looked upon highly.  So off he went...

Basically the point was to see what kind of awesome job would come out of a deployment and, in short, the job came.  He had been there about 4 months and an incredible opportunity was offered.  We were all a bit shocked, it was impossible to fully understand the feelings everyone had because I was in the US with the kids and the home responsibility and he was in the middle of Asia doing his job and trying to stay focused.  We talked, thought, prayed and agonized over it.  I looked up schools and houses, J thought deeply about his service to the country and, conversely, about his commitment to our family.  The job would require A LOT of time away and also a very quick and stressful relocation for the kids and I.  After many sleepless nights J came to the conclusion that he wanted to have life with us and with that decision pretty much severed his tie to the Air Force.

On his return from Afghanistan there was about 1 1/2 years of his commitment left.  Lots of time for us to think about our new life and plan for the transition.  In the spring of 2011 we received an assignment to Minot and by turning it down cemented Josh's exit on August 2, 2012.

Of course life never exactly goes the way you want, we had just settled into the school routine, Mom had started her job (more on that later) and we started slowly prepping for a transition in the early summer.  In October the RIF (reduction in force) was released and J was on the list.  This meant the Air Force would be releasing him on March 1st from service and we would be on our own.

There are too many pros and cons to list here but essentially we received a severance package, J got his terminal leave and we were on our way.  We left Wichita Falls in early January.

Enough to process for one post...  Next find out what J has decided to be when he grows up.  Time to reinvent ourselves and jump into a brand new life!