Theodore Roosevelt said these words in a speech entitled The Strenuous Life to the Hamilton Club in Chicago on April 10, 1899.  Stirring speeches ARE inspirational, but…you know the devil is in the details!

We received notice in early June that mon marie (husband) was being considered for a new position – to be a Guarantor with the Central Advisory Team, coaching staffs across Eastern Europe, Asia, and maybe Thailand.  Same type of internal consultant for manufacturing efficiency, but (very) different scenery from the Dothan-Tuscaloosa-Ardmore route of the present!  An exciting opportunity, to be sure!

June came and went……waiting, waiting, waiting…..(repeat for 40+ days….)  No news.  Speculations (i.e. my nerves!) are at an all-time high.  However, this Monday was a breakthrough and we actually received some preliminary paperwork to complete.  There are still hurdles to cross to make it official but, so far, the train seems to be pulling slowly out of the station.

Oh, and did I mention, they wanted us in France the first of SEPTEMBER?  Hahahahahaha.  Fortunately, the reality is probably early October.  In the interim, we’ve been researching everything and its dog.  Do we rent our house? Sell our house? What’s the market?  Where to live there? Sell cars? Hurry to have several window frames repaired (a BIG mess), push to expedite the new roof, new gutters, and painting from the hail storm in March.  Start cleaning out closets, drawers and my personal albatross, the dreaded PLAYROOM (click here to queue theme song from JAWS.)   (Yes, I know what you’re all thinking – it takes a move across the ocean to get me to actually do it……) Above all, what about our FAMILY… and our STUFF?????  (Devil, leave me alone!  I can hear Flip Wilson ringing in my head.)

We started out together as rolling stones….from West Point, New York, to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, Monterey, California, back to Ft. Sill, on to pre-1990 Nuernberg, (West) Germany….then skip back over the pond to Greenville, South Carolina, and pause for 27 wonderful years.  Now it seems like a full circle, heading back to Europe as American expatriates!  Talk about a pinball machine going off in your head.  Try sleeping at night with THAT going on!

Enough preamble….the stage is now set for the play.

Have a great day!

Jeremiah 29 – 11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.