Upheaval

Our house wouldn’t be right if there wasn’t some sort of upheaval on the horizon. A few months ago Tim got word that an awesome position was opening up within the bank he works for but it hadn’t been posted yet. Knowing the rate at which the bank operates I knew it’d be months before he could apply and I was right. He was finally able to apply and interview in mid-January. The interview went well and things looked promising.

While waiting for the decision from the hiring manager at the bank, Tim received a phone call from his Master Sergeant. She wanted him to come on ADOS orders for the next eight months and work on a project that ties into the brigade’s larger mission. When it rains it pours right?

Both options keep us, as a family, very comfortable financially and both positions provided the opportunity for job satisfaction and progress that Tim lacks in his current position. The priority of choices seemed like a no-brainer to us. While the Army would provide us with more cash it, the position right now isn’t long term. The bank position would be a good move in Tim’s civilian career. We agreed he should accept the bank position if offered.

The waiting for a decision from the bank was nerve-wracking. Not knowing if he’d keep his normal hours and our normal routine or possibly need to report for duty in twenty-four hours did not sit well with my type-A self. (Surprise! Surprise!) We finally got an answer last week.

Tim didn’t get the position at the bank. It’s a disappointment especially since I know he would have excelled in the position but the manager had her reasons. It’s not terrible either though because the caliber of people he’ll be working with while on order is second to none. This brigade is high speed in every sense and leadership cares about their soldiers, both their military and civilian lives.

It’s also going to give Tim a trial run of what non-deployment active duty is like. We’ve debated for the last two or three years if active duty is a career path for him. I say “yes”. He enjoys the structure and camaraderie that the Army offers, which he hasn’t found to the same degree in his civilian career. He says “no” because he like his autonomy after he leaves the office for the day. You know that autonomy that has him on conference calls with his First Sergeant, answering calls from his junior enlisted, and online at night taking classes for promotion and yearly certifications through the AKO system. We’ll see.

In the meantime we’ll have our hands full with developing a new routine until I go out on maternity leave sometime in the next 45 days and then we’ll develop another routine once I deliver the baby. It’ll be a trial by fire for all of us.