Monday, June 6, 2011

Gimme a Break! (from Turkey)

I live my entire life in roughly 1 square mile.  My ENTIRE life.  My neighborhood, all of our friends and W's friends, our church, grocery store, BX, post office, gas station, swimming pool, library, Ryan's work, a putt putt course, and even a bowling alley-in 1 square mile.  Contrast that to living in San Antonio-everything is super spread out.  I don't think anything was 1 mile away.  My world has been shrunk considerably living here.  There are days I feel almost claustrophobic-I want to get in the car and just drive.  But within a mile, I would run into a big security gate where the base and my little "world" ends and Turkey begins.

Sigh.

Right now, our base is going through a huge transition-just like every summer.  Roughly half of the population is moving away or just arriving, and the rest of us are halfway through our time.  I have talked to several folks like us with one year left and we seem to all feel the same way right now.  Worn down.  Tired of this tiny place.  Ready for a break.  Even though we have one year behind us, the prospect of one more year here seems daunting to say the least.

The good news is that I am about to get a much-needed respite from Turkey.  I am going home (insert cheesy Michael Buble' song here).  W and I are leaving together at the end of the month and won't be back until September!  There isn't enough space on this page to list all the things I am looking forward to doing and people I am looking forward to seeing.  And getting in my car and just driving..........ah, bliss.  I am hoping to return in the fall renewed and ready to tackle the last phase of our time here.

But in the meantime, as the song says, "Sweet home, Alabama-Lord, I'm coming home to you!".

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