Change

Interesting dynamics the military life brings...and now that I have been a part of it for three years I am beginning to understand and experience more and more.  Aviano being my first official base (since Taylor was in Korea our first year of marriage) we have come to an interesting point.  Within the group of officers in the Security Forces Squadron, the whole eight of them, we are now the couple who has been at Aviano the longest.  What a bizarre thought to think that there is no one left here from when we first arrived, a mere two years ago.  And for a girl who grew up in the same town from age 4 on...it's really a foreign concept, one that I honestly was not sure that I would be able to handle.  But as our time left at Aviano gets shorter and shorter (less than one year, as of this month!) I find myself curious and excited to find out what is next.  It's like anxiously awaiting a big present on Christmas...I just want to know now!

How has this change occurred you ask?  Especially my family who likes to remind me of my minor freak out when there was talk about moving down the street within the SAME neighborhood when I was younger.  I had big concerns at the time...my bus stop would have changed, my best friend, Diane, would have been a 2 minute bike ride away instead of a 30 second walk, and to be honest, our cul-de-sac was pretty darn cool!  But I grew up in a world where everything stayed the same, at least to my young mind it stayed the same.  My friends were there year to year, I stayed in the same school system from K-12 (different schools...I'm not that small town!!) and my routine at home never waivered much.  So the thought of a move or a change when everyone I knew stayed in place was a scary thought!  But now that I am surrounded by a culture of coming and going, in and out, here and there, it takes away the fear of being the one to move, being the one who has to adjust to the change, leaving everyone I know in one place with life going on without me.  I already did that once in October of 2009 when we moved to Italy.  I had those fears, those hesitations, leaving my constant world, my family an ocean away, my elementary and high school friends who became my roommates in college.  Yeah, it was hard.

But here, I won't be leaving everyone I know in one place without me.  The majority of my close friends here in Aviano will either have already moved on, or will be moving shortly after me.  So my emotional ties to the base will have moved.  Such a weird thought to wrap my mind around, but a concept that is almost comforting. 

So what I'm coming to understand and slowly accept is the saying that "The only thing constant is change itself."  And since that's my only guarantee, it is better I start adjusting or it will be a long road ahead of me!  I've been on a Jason Aldean kick lately and he has a song that's perfectly appropriate, the opening verse says: 

Let's don't say goodbye

I hate the way it sounds
So if you don't mind
Let's just say for now...

So friends, ciao for now...see you when I see you!