Staying Put

Justin was scheduled to go to DLI in March, and study Russian.  His orders were published, and our departure date was looming.  I had a lot of mixed feelings about returning to Monterey.  I thought it would be a better experience this time. For me anyway.  This time Justin could go brave the Russian classes.  Vivian and I would explore the outlet stores in Gilroy, visit with Shaine and Vanessa, hike along the coastline, and basically learn to love Monterey.  I even bought myself a little happy light to try and keep the gloomy weather from dragging me down.  Then Justin got an email from our company.  DLI isn't happening.  The orders are being rescinded, the funding isn't available.  All of the sudden I really wanted to go back to Monterey.  Well, maybe that's overstating things a bit.  I really wanted Justin to get the chance to learn Russian too, and I felt like he had earned it.  However, it seems that a return to Monterey is not in the cards for us, at least not at this time.

I am still hanging onto that happy light.  We're planning on going to Logan in the fall so that Justin can get busy acquiring his degree.  No part of me looks forward to living in Logan in the winter.  This isn't what we planned, but there seems to be a real upside to all of this.  We decided to plan a vacation to Hawaii in March.  There's nothing quite like booking a stay in the army's beachfront cabins to remind yourself that the army isn't all bad, even though they have screwed over your life and sent you spinning in a different direction, yet again.  This time that direction appears to not be such a bad one.  We have nothing against spending another summer in Utah, and we really don't have anything against Justin getting his degree done earlier than we had anticipated.  Not getting the second language is disappointing, but not the end of the world.  We're still keeping our fingers crossed that some more funding comes through and his orders get reinstated, but at the same time not holding our breath.  We love our ward, we're close to family, Vivian's cousins are thrilled with the idea of having access to our apartment's pool again, Justin can't wait to take us back to Southern Utah for more camping and hiking, and I am happy to get another sunny summer.