Beautiful Ohio

It was June 2005.  Eric and I had been married for three days and we were at my parents' house to pick up some of my childhood possessions when Eric received a call from the ROTC detachment. His orders had been cut and his "Report No Later" date had been given for June 25th.  My world started spinning.  Though I had known since we got engaged that marrying Eric meant I would be moving from the only place I had ever lived, I had comforted myself with the idea of spending one more summer there to experience everything one more time.  I cried.  Okay, actually I threw a tantrum.  I'm not proud, but it is the truth.  Then I realized that this date meant that we had already gone to St. Lawrence for the last time as we were going on our honeymoon during the last week before we moved.  It also meant that we had already seen several friends for the last time and I'd probably only get to see my 4 month old niece 1 or 2 more times.  This did not make for the happiest of honeymoons as every day of it I would think about what I would be doing one week later.  I felt like I was being torn apart.  When Eric received word from his sponsor that they had some flexibility about his arrival date, I asked him to try to get it changed and promised I would never do such a thing again.  I just needed time to adjust to life as a military spouse where your choice of address isn't always your decision.  

As luck would have it, while driving back into Lawrence, preparing to move within a couple of days after our honeymoon, we received a call from Eric's dad telling us that there may be a change to our plans.  Eric's dad was a Colonel with the same last name as Eric, so he was mistakenly called about the order changes before Eric was.  For the next few hours I prayed that we had been given a reprieve.  And we were.  Eric's orders were changed to report to AFIT at the beginning of August.   It was still hard to leave and I missed my home for several months, but I was so grateful to get those extra few weeks.  And after living with two roommates, I was more than ready to see what it would be like to only live with my husband and actually use our wedding gifts.

Now, here we are 7 years later and getting ready to move again.  Somewhere along the way, Ohio has become home.  It probably has a lot to do that we have had three children here and have matured from newlyweds to a growing family with a mortgage and a slightly more realistic view of what married life is.   But, we have also made many wonderful friends.   Friends that I know will be in our lives in one way or another for a long time.  Even if they aren't available as readily to socialize with.

We also have a wonderful church.  I've cried the last two Sundays as people have come up to me to express their regret that we are moving.  Many of them I do not know, but they have been familiar faces at the 8 AM Mass for the last 7 years.  They have seen us childless, wrestling 1 child, wrestling 2 children, and then adding a third (while still wrestling 2 children).  They have been nothing but supportive and thrilled to welcome us into their fold even as a child or two interrupted the Homily.  I'm pretty sure most of them know our children's names better than they know ours.   And since Molly has been held by half the parish, that isn't that big of a surprise.  When we left St. Lawrence, we were warned about what may be waiting us in parish life, but St. Helen's has been a joy to be a part of, and I hope that as we leave St. Helen's, we will be so lucky again at our next church.

The day in July when we got our orders to report to Eglin AFB in October, I commented to my neighbor that 7 years ago I felt that I was being ripped from the only home I had ever known, and here I am having that same feeling again.  However, the biggest difference is that having experienced this time in Ohio, I know that just because you leave one home does not mean the next place will not be a home.  So with that thought, as sad as I am to leave this wonderful place, I look forward to meeting new friends and experiencing new things that will make the next place a home, too.