Our Unique Situation

Hello all! Thanks for returning. This week was interesting. Ed has started a new shift pattern at work. This week was his short week. So, in theory we should've seen each other more. This kind of happened. This weekend we were able to spend more time with each other than we had in a long time. But during the week not much was different. We shall see... maybe this shift pattern will be better for us. Maybe it won't. Its too early to tell right now. 

This week I'm going to talk a bit about our life and the choices we have to make. We find ourselves to be in a seemingly unique situation. Whenever we talk to friends or family or even complete strangers about our life, we get the same responses. A huge part of our current lifestyle that we find frustrating is how little we see each other. When we discuss this with people, we are often told "That's life" or "We have had to do that for a long time" or "You'll get used to it" etc. I don't mean to insult anyone when I complain. It's just that its really not the way Ed and I want to live our lives. 

We have had some awesome experiences in life, and aren't quite ready to give up that lifestyle. Currently we work, eat, sleep and repeat... We thought we were ready to settle down. But, now that we have had a taste of life here. It doesn't seem to suit us. We are lucky, we both want the same things out of life. One thing we agreed on long before marriage was the fact that kids weren't really in the picture of our future. So, when it comes to living a life where we pack up our bags and move, its just the two of us. But, does this mean we should...? We have the opportunity to move abroad again, we've been offered a short term position overseas. But, we also have tempting offers here. Such as a house, and jobs with potential to make decent money. So, what do we do... can we do both? We have so much to think about and so many options. Its really hard to choose. But, in the end, we need to do what's best for us. Not just what everyone thinks we should be doing. What's the value of a job/money/lifestyle if its not making you happy? Another response I get when I tell people about what's going on in my life is "You're not getting any younger". OUCH . Ha Ha. While this statement is very true, its not something I'm terribly worried about. My husband and I are fairly responsible when it comes to our finances. We still treat ourselves to ice cream and nice things. But, we are not extravagant people. In the end as long as there is a roof over my head and food on the table, I'm happy. At the end of my life, I would much rather look back on my experiences and think "Yeah, that was a good life" than look at my bank account. NOW when I say this PLEASE don't take offense if you are someone working towards retirement. ESPECIALLY if you are someone who has kiddos to think of. This is why I think our situation is different than most. I sometimes feel like I don't really want what everyone else does... but, I'm ok with that. I just want to be happy. 


One happy moment I have been looking back on lately is when Ed proposed to me. I'm pretty sure, when any girl turns around and see's their significant other with a ring in their hands, its a happy moment. But, man Ed shot this one out of the park. He took me up to a pagoda on a nearby mountain to watch the sunrise and there he proposed. How could anyone say no?!? Really though, it was amazing. I would have said yes anywhere at anytime, but having it be in such a special place makes me realize how lucky I am. Being able to see places like this, is something else I miss. Heck, even going to buy vegetables at the market in China was an adventure. There isn't much adventure in our life now. Like I said, its pretty much work, eat, sleep and repeat. 

So, what would you do? Would you stay? Would you go? Would you try to do both...?