You can't always get what you want

You know the Rolling Stones song? It's one of my favorite Stones songs, yet I don't have it in my Itunes library. But since moving to Virginia I don't really need it to be , since I've heard it weekly on the radio. At first I was all like "score"!! Since it's one of like a handful of good songs playing around here. But then, as the weeks went by, I thought it was weird I was hearing it so much. Then, I finally realized, I might be hearing it for a reason.

I really, honestly believe that everything happens for a reason. Now, some call this divine intervention, and some believe it's all written in the cosmos. Others will say hindsight is 20/20. Whattheeffever. All I know for sure, is that everything always works out, whether is was the plan or not.

I've been doing some reflecting lately. October was kind of a month full of "bad news", and in true big-girl style, I went on a pity - party bandwagon.
Being a military family we have very little control over some major aspects of our lives, and when we're offered a little control, and buy into that fantasy it can be hard to accept different outcomes. Sometimes it works in your favor, and other times, it works in your favor, but in a less enjoyable, less instantly gratifying sort of way.
So aside from a few personal, non-military controlled crap-bombs,we have had a major Army induced let down. Now, before I tell my pathetic, cry-baby tale, let me infer that this is about what we WANTED Vs. what we GOT. And what we GOT was a far cry from "bad". It just wasn't what we WANTED.

Derek recently had his branch interview, where you find out what duty stations are available to you, per positions needs and blah blah blah. We had kind of made a TOP 5 list of places we wanted to go (Hawaii, Alaska, D.C., Colorado,Germany) based on people who had attended the classes previous to Derek. Well, big blow #1 was that when Derek's list came down, only one of our TOP 5 places was on the list; Ft. Carson, CO. I'm not going to lie. I wanted Hawaii REALLY REALLY badly. And we actually thought we had a good shot to get there,based on Derek's deployment history.Sure roll your eyes. Is it a paradise? Yes. But the pros also included things like:I know my way around the base, I know the area, I know people there.The transition will be easier on my kiddos. These are all things to take into consideration when your new to a duty station and your husband is going to deploy. So, after trying to take in that news, we looked over the list and made a decision of a NEW Top 5. One choice really jumped out at Derek, and after some discussion on the topic, weighing the Pro's and Con's, made it to our #1 slot.
JAPAN.
Yes, Japan, the place that recently had a major catastrophe. The island nation. The foreign country. As we weighed the Pro's (overseas,beautiful,perfect timing as far as the kids are concerned, great opportunity, cultural experience) and the Con's (not really knowing anyone there, not knowing the area, emergency situations might get tricky, Hope might have to stay with my dad) and talked to people who had been stationed there, the good definitely outweighed the bad here. Another plus? we were the first to pick it, and Derek was told he would be high on the order of merit list. We were also told the Ft. Carson, wasn't going to happen for us. It's highly coveted, and already had several requests by the time we had our meeting. Fine. We realized we only picked Carson because it wasn't awful, kinda like picking the lesser of 10 evils.We wanted to be coastal, and warmer. We wanted Japan, thankyouverymuch.
We googled and discussed. We talked in depth to a couple that just moved from there. We made plans and started mentally weeding out our household goods. I even looked up gymnastics schools and houses. Although we ere told orders would come down 4 NOV, Derek checked daily. DAILY.
Well, never name a stray puppy. We got Fort Carson. Ugh. Look, don't get me wrong, Fort Carson is beautiful. EVERYONE I know who has been there wants to go back, or stay. People try their whole careers to get there. I completely get it. I really do. I have no business complaining about this duty station. I'm even a little embarrassed about it, really. And I know my list of reasons why I don't want this duty station will get just as many eye rolls as my reasons I wanted Hawaii.

Ft. Carson brings with it many of the attributes for an easy transition, just like Hawaii; I know people there, the kids will acclimate nicely, I'll have a better network if Derek deploys soon.

Reflecting back on our military life, and just life in general, I realized, that no matter what, we make the best out of our situations. Everything happens for a reason. ... So no matter how much I want to flip the bird at fate, or send that branch manager a picture of me sobbing while bundled up to my nose in outer layers,or suggest me and the kids moving to someplace warmer and tropical while just Derek goes on to Colorado, I can't help but hear it playing in the back of my mind... "and if you try sometimes, you just might find... you get what you need".