If there’s one thing that we can count on as a military family, it’s that there is always another move on the horizon. It’s a blessing and a curse, really. Of course we love the adventure and the change – because change can sometimes be a REALLY amazing thing – but it’s so hard when it means uprooting and leaving somewhere we truly love. Today I’m sharing all about our upcoming move – our thoughts, feelings, and our plans moving forward.

We’re Moving… AGAIN!

Brandon got his official orders yesterday which means we are OFFICIALLY moving… again. Does it feel like we just got to South Korea to you? Because it sure feels that way to us! But these orders didn’t take us by surprise. Our situation is unique among the military community in that we’ve known where we’d be heading after South Korea since before we even GOT here. In fact, it was South Korea that was the surprise, as we actually thought we’d be heading to Missouri straight from Washington. Instead we got to take a little 15-month detour to Asia and it was the most incredible detour we didn’t know we wanted and needed.

Why Missouri? Well, it wasn’t by choice, if that’s what you’re wondering. Because my husband is in the Chemical Corps, Fort Leonard Wood is where he does all of his Chemical training. So that means that, yes, we’ve been there before and yes, we are once again headed back to Fort Lost-in-the-Woods (as it is appropriately nicknamed).

How do we feel about it? It’s a mixed bag, really. Brandon LOVED Missouri the first time we lived there. I, on the other hand, had a more difficult time. I found out I was pregnant with baby 4 immediately after arriving in Missouri. And then I delivered two weeks before we moved away from Missouri. So I was pregnant for literally the ENTIRE time we were there (except for two weeks at the very end). It was a rough pregnancy. Appendicitis while pregnant led to an entire nine months of sickness. And it being my first time living away from family didn’t help with the prenatal depression. Add to all of that my debilitating fear of tornadoes… and it makes sense why I didn’t absolutely love Missouri.

So how do I feel about going back? If I’m being completely honest: I’m a little anxious. But I’m also cautiously optimistic. Mentally I’m in a much better place now than I was back then. My bestie will be there waiting for me (and get this: we’re going to live in the same neighborhood and it’s going to be BONKERS). We’ve lived MUCH farther away from family, so that’s not really much of a challenge. Plus, we’ve lived in Missouri before. I already know where the Walmart and the McDonald’s and the Hobby Lobby are. I already know that the St Louis Zoo is a solid 10/10 (and did I mention that it’s FREE!?). Things will be so familiar. And there is a lot of comfort in that.

How do I feel about leaving South Korea? Here’s where it gets a little touchy. Because when I say I have LOVED our time in SoKo, I absolutely 100% mean it. My love for this country, its people, and its customs runs DEEP – to the point where I sometimes wonder if I was really supposed to be born Korean. We’ve wandered all over the Korean Peninsula and it has paid off. We have seen and done so much (remember my mostly exhaustive list of everything we did in one year living in South Korea?) and it has really allowed us to thrive here.

THAT BEING SAID: living in a foreign country (even one that I love so much) isn’t without its challenges. Navigating here is ROUGH (which is one major reason the blog has turned into what it has – to help others navigate here). The language barrier is always a challenge (although Koreans are among the most gracious people I’ve ever met when it comes to this). And honestly I miss central air conditioning… ha!

I miss American-sized ovens and American-sized dishwashers. I miss my front-loading, large-load washing machine. I miss all my home decor – the dozens of paintings I’ve done and trinkets I’ve purchased over my lifetime – all the decor that was left in storage so we could be under the weight limit for moving here. I miss having a garage and a car with American-specs. I miss my homeland. And I’ve decided that I can love South Korea and want to stay here longer, and still miss things about my home. I can feel both of those things at the same time – and I think embracing both has really helped me love living here MORE.

So am I ready to leave South Korea? Absolutely not. But I think I will be when the time comes – because what other choice do I have?

Truthfully, I’m excited to give Missouri another chance. I’m excited to see it through new lenses and experiment on just how much I can embrace the idea that we can truly love anywhere we live. So while our new adventures may not be quite as exotic as they’ve been, I hope you’ll stick around as I put my own words to the test and thrive in Missouri!

And even if you don’t come back after our time in SoKo is done, I won’t hold it against you. But stay tuned for the many other South Korea adventures that I’ll be posting. I’m roughly 15 posts behind currently (so as not to completely overwhelm my subscribers with daily posts) and there are more coming as we continue to explore and love this country!

’til next time…

Ash