February 18, 2007
In December 2006 and January 2007 we moved to Atlanta. We did it very slowly, over two trips, but all the while we were estactic. We made it--he was DONE. His BDUs got packed up into a box and we swore we'd never look at them again. He got a plaque from his platoon stating that he had performed his 3 years of service. I quit my nannying job and stopped substitute teaching, and we were off.
I don't even remember February 18 of that year. I vaguely remember stating that I knew my insurance was no longer in effect, and that we wouldn't get another paycheck, but really that was the extent of it. After 23 months of looking forward to that date, it sorta just passed us by. We'd already moved on.
Atlanta didn't turn out exactly how we'd imagined it so many times for so many months. We moved in with my parents because we were both going to be full time students--I'd applied to the TEEMS Program at GSU and he'd been admitted to Gwinnett Tech. Since my school didn't start until the summer I got a job in marketing, and that's really why things started going badly. I was at work all day and hated my job. After work I went out to bars a lot with friends from work for happy hour. If Tim wasn't at school he was working in a restaurant. We really never saw each other. Our lives really started to go in separate directions and we didn't even hang out on the weekends since he was working, so I went out with my old friends. Meanwhile, Tim didn't know anyone in the entire city. It was really sad.
We just sort of survived for just under a year. I really can't say we were unhappy, but we weren't necessarily happy either. In that year a lot of my friends from old days moved away, and so things really changed for both of us. By January of 2008, Tim found a job in his field and loved going to work every day. By then I was fully immersed in student teaching and busy most nights working until I passed out in bed. Things really started to look up for us. We started discussing buying a house when I finish school and get a teaching job for the fall, at the very least we know what area we want to live in even if we rent. We're looking forward to getting out of my parents house and finally being us again. We started putting down our school work for 30 minutes a night and just spending time together. We really started to overcome the year of adjustment, and things really looked good for us.
I think that what was really exciting for us about making all these plans is that it's finally our chance to settle down and be married. We won't be looking forward to getting out of the military, or moving to atlanta, or anything else. We want a house, we want careers, we want life to be stable and normal. I'd love to have a baby in the next two years and really just...live my life.
I even had a week off of teaching. Spring break was supposed to be a godsend, a week to catch up and sleep late and not worry for a while. Well, at least, I thought it was supposed to be. It turns out that everything we thought was supposed to be may very well not be at all..........
I don't even remember February 18 of that year. I vaguely remember stating that I knew my insurance was no longer in effect, and that we wouldn't get another paycheck, but really that was the extent of it. After 23 months of looking forward to that date, it sorta just passed us by. We'd already moved on.
Atlanta didn't turn out exactly how we'd imagined it so many times for so many months. We moved in with my parents because we were both going to be full time students--I'd applied to the TEEMS Program at GSU and he'd been admitted to Gwinnett Tech. Since my school didn't start until the summer I got a job in marketing, and that's really why things started going badly. I was at work all day and hated my job. After work I went out to bars a lot with friends from work for happy hour. If Tim wasn't at school he was working in a restaurant. We really never saw each other. Our lives really started to go in separate directions and we didn't even hang out on the weekends since he was working, so I went out with my old friends. Meanwhile, Tim didn't know anyone in the entire city. It was really sad.
We just sort of survived for just under a year. I really can't say we were unhappy, but we weren't necessarily happy either. In that year a lot of my friends from old days moved away, and so things really changed for both of us. By January of 2008, Tim found a job in his field and loved going to work every day. By then I was fully immersed in student teaching and busy most nights working until I passed out in bed. Things really started to look up for us. We started discussing buying a house when I finish school and get a teaching job for the fall, at the very least we know what area we want to live in even if we rent. We're looking forward to getting out of my parents house and finally being us again. We started putting down our school work for 30 minutes a night and just spending time together. We really started to overcome the year of adjustment, and things really looked good for us.
I think that what was really exciting for us about making all these plans is that it's finally our chance to settle down and be married. We won't be looking forward to getting out of the military, or moving to atlanta, or anything else. We want a house, we want careers, we want life to be stable and normal. I'd love to have a baby in the next two years and really just...live my life.
I even had a week off of teaching. Spring break was supposed to be a godsend, a week to catch up and sleep late and not worry for a while. Well, at least, I thought it was supposed to be. It turns out that everything we thought was supposed to be may very well not be at all..........