That is the question. [Check out my snazzy little Picnik collage that took me three times longer to make than it should have because I'm on the Mac tonight]. Family, you can click the picture to enlarge and see exactly where the two are. Anyway, for anyone that doesn't know, and for my own sanity of saying everything from the beginning to help me decide, Matt reenlists this year. That will either happen July 1st or October 1st, we don't know yet. But what we DO know, is that we are running out of time deciding on what to do for this next enlistment. And when I say we, I mean that Matt has his mind made up and I just don't know.
Matt's decision: Parris Island (Beaufort, SC). He wants to be stationed at Parris Island and be a Drill Instructor. The hours are going to be really demanding and he's probably going to end up crazy (hopefully I'm kidding?). BUT, we'll be close to home, so that when I'm alone 90% of the next 3 years, or if he does become crazy, I'm only about 4 hours away (and only about two from my mom!)
Pros:
- Matt gets to do the job he wants to do
- Close to home: 4 hours from Atlanta, about 3 from Columbia, and about 2 from Brunswick
- Big pro: Matt will be stateside and deployment free for a guaranteed three+ years. That's nice knowing he won't have to go to Afghanistan.
Cons:
- A Drill Instructor has a cycle of recruits that lasts for 13 weeks. For the 13 weeks, he's not going to be coming home often, and when he does he'll be passed out from sleep deprivation. And the amounts of time in between cycles isn't long, maybe a week or two.
- I seriously am terrified that Matt is going to have a hard time leaving "Drill Instructor" at the door and being "Matt" at home. I'm worried that he's going to be mean, snappy, and just not adjust well to having to juggle two completely different personalities.
- Matt got an injury in bootcamp (he fractured his femur). HOW is he going to be able to do bootcamp like 25 times in a row without anymore injuries?
- About the area, I really wanted to be in a city after doing my 4 years in Jacksonville, North Carolina. My job opportunities are much more plentiful in a big city compared to a little town. And I'm a city person, so I've really missed being in a city the entire time I've been in Jacksonville, but what got me through it was the idea of California next.
So to sum up Beaufort, the big pro is that he's stateside, which means he's safe. No Afghanistan. It may even be over with by the time he would be done with this. The big con is that I'm worried about how this is going to affect him, his personality, his temper, and our marriage. Not to mention I don't love the area.
Now onto Oceanside, California. Camp Pendleton, another really big Marine Corps base like Lejeune, is located there. It's between Los Angeles and San Diego (BINGO for me!) Matt would basically be reenlisting to do the same MOS (job) that he is already doing, no Drill Instructor job.
Pros:
-Ummm.... HELLO CALIFORNIA! I've been dreaming about living there since I was about 13. Seriously, I had maps of it in my room in high school and made a graduation plan that fell through to go live there (I didn't think about money haha). My mom will testify- I am obsessed with southern California. So the pro is that I will LOVE the area (and I'm the one that has to be there twice as much as him with deployments). Which leads me to the con.
Con:
- He will deploy. And we will probably not get as lucky as we did this enlistment, where Matt was attached to a MEU unit that never went anywhere dangerous. Next time, he will probably attach to an infantry unit and go to Afghanistan, we can't be lucky enough to avoid that two enlistments in a row. And although 90% of my friends have had their husbands go to Afghanistan and they all came home safely, I know not everyone does come home, and it's been nice not having to worry about Matt. But if we pick California, I will. Beaufort would avoid the stress of an Afghanistan deployment.
- Matt doesn't get to be a drill instructor. He's going to me bummed probably that he missed out on that. But he doesn't hate the idea of California, either.
To sum up everything, Beaufort brings another boring town. Another four years that I'm basically just hanging my own goals (California) and dreams (awesome legal city job) at the door while Matt gets to live out his goals and dreams. Maybe I'm selfish, but I feel like it's my turn to choose. I really don't know what to do. I just feel like I've always been putting my own wants aside so that Matt can be happy, I sometimes feel like I'm just following him while he lives his life and I don't really get to, and I wish that we both agreed on something but in this case we don't. Normally when we can't see eye to eye, I back down because it's just easier that way. But it's California!!!
Help.
