"Furlough".

"Furlough: to lay an employee or worker off from work, usually temporarily; a temporary leave of absence authorized for a prisoner from a penitentiary." The word furlough has always made me giggle. The fact the the word "fur" is on it makes me think of furry animals scurrying into hibernation or something. I also thought that it was something that I'd never have to contend with.

I have been "furloughed" from my job, as the president of the company eloquently put it. I knew that it was coming, but I can honestly say that I did not anticipate it coming so quickly. I had hoped to keep working through May in order to help offset some of the costs that we are going to have eat on this move. For instance, we will have to ship one of our vehicles out of pocket. The government will pay for one vehicle, so we have to pay for the other. My financial aid for school has run its course after this next class, so I will have to begin paying out of pocket for my classes. Had I been able to work through May, we could have easily saved money and been able to pay for everything without feeling a squeeze. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

My kids are happy that I won't be working for the foreseeable future. I think deep down, I am too. The loss of income will be sorely missed, but I now have more time with the kids, more time for studying, more time to get life back together and get everything in order for when we hop the pond to Hawaii. I think that I'll be able to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. You'd think that I'd be able to know by now, but sometimes I think being a jack of all trades is fun.

This is the first time that I have ever been "furloughed" or laid off. I have always been the one to terminate my employment, usually for another position or because of the hardships associated with the life of a military spouse (virtually impossible to have a stable career). It's a strange feeling and hopefully, one I won't have to go through again. But, we'll make do. Everything happens for a reason--even if we don't understand it at the time. It'll all work out in the end. This prisoner is escaping the penitentiary for a little while.

Aloha.

By now, the news has been plastered everywhere...no, not Crazy Charlie's hysterical one liners while he's on a bender. We are moving. The assignment gods at AFPC (Air Force Personnel Center) have bestowed their judgement to us peons. Their decision? Hawaii. We are moving to Hawaii. Even as I type those words, it still hasn't sunk in that it's real. We were actually apprehensive to say anything because we're so afraid that they'll take it back and say, "Oops! Our bad! You're not going there...you're going to some crap ass base with tons of snow in the middle of the country!" Let's hope that's not the case.

When Mark called to tell me, I was completely elated. Not just because of the tropical locale, the awesome food and the kick ass beaches. Yes, obviously, anyone would be stupid to NOT want to go. But we were happy for another reason: Family. Simply put, we are finally going someplace near family. In the 10 years that Mark has been in the Air Force, we have never been near family. We haven't had the weekend drop offs and visits, nor the quick trips home in the car (by plane, yes...which racks up the bills VERY quickly). Mark's parents live on the Big Island; so while we'll still be a few islands away, we're still in the same state. Plus, Mark's brother is 90% for sure transferring to Oahu in December. One big happy Roman family!

We will be departing Louisiana most likely sometime in late June. It is bittersweet. Sweet because it is time to move on and we were able to get the number one choice. Bitter because it means leaving behind friends that we have come to know and love as family. It is always the hardest part of the move. However, this time is proving especially difficult--some of these friends are like sisters to me. I let my guard down and became incredibly close to many of them. Now it's almost time to say, "See you soon!" I can't say good-bye...it's too final and too depressing. But if I say, "See you soon, or see you later!", then it's not *quite* as bad. :)

Mahalo Louisiana for the memories and the experiences. Aloha, Hawaii!