Assignment Update

We have some big decisions to make coming up, as far as what we are going to do next. The assignment detailer gave Bob 3 choices to think about last Wednesday, but since that was the day my wallet got stolen, I didn't have the emotional energy to really think too hard about any of them! The 3 choices were : an IG job at Eglin AFB, FL, an IG job at Langley AFB, VA, and a joint job at the Canadian Command and Staff College in Toronto.

After all the drama of the weekend, we finally did get around to really discussing those options, and we ruled out the 2 IG jobs. Those would involve tons and tons of travel, and that just doesn't seem like the best thing for the family right now. So that left the job up in Toronto, which was a big unknown. I put out a question on the Well Trained Mind board, and some kind ladies gave very reassuring answers as to life in Canada, especially in Toronto, and it does sound like a lovely city. But would that be better than staying here? It doesn't really set Bob up for a job after he retires.

Then the detailer said yesterday that he also had a position in the USJFCOM compound, which is down not too far from Norfolk. That job is a lot more up Bob's alley, as far as what he has done in that past and would probably do in the future. We looked at some rentals online, and they seem nicer and bigger than the ones close to Langley, which all seemed very old and small. So that is an option for us. The trick is that the job in Toronto is a "must fill", while the job down in JFCOM is a level lower, so the guy might not be able to load that job for us.

Whichever job we get officially assigned, we will have to decide if that is better than staying here. And there are some very compelling reasons to stay! We have very, very close friends here, we have a WONDERFUL church, we love our homeschool group, as well as all the extracurricular opportunities for homeschoolers here, and it is not too far from either set of parents. It is closer to Bob's parents, and that is very important to us, as they are getting older and can't travel.

The one thing that makes moving particularly attractive right now is that there is a program in place for military people who bought homes before I think 2006 in areas that were really inflated, like D.C. If you get orders and PCS at least 50 miles away from your previous duty station, then the government will pay 95% of the difference between what you paid for your house, and what you can sell it for. That is substantial, since our house has probably lost at least $200,000 since we bought it in 2004. I guess before we accepted any assignment, I would want Bob to absolutely make sure the dates are correct and everything, because if we were somehow not eligible, then it would be a no-brainer. We wouldn't move.

If we do move, Bob would have to stay active duty for 2 more years before he could retire. One thing that makes the VA Beach job better than the Toronto one is the possibility that Bob could start work down there, maybe as late as January, and we could stay here and finish out TNT and Classical Conversations while trying to sell the house. Then we could all move down there in April. That would not work in Toronto, as Bob would most likely have a report date in October, and we couldn't really commute back and forth to there over weekends! I'm not sure what we would do if we had to move that early--we definitely couldn't do Classical Conversations.

Please be praying for wisdom and discernment for us. It would be wonderful to be totally out of debt, but it would also be a huge hassle to get the house ready to sell. Also, Luke in particular has no interest in moving (hmm, wonder who he is most like as a child?!). So there are lots of things to weigh, and we want to be where the Lord wants us.