Dropping Paper

**Deep Breaths**

Dropping paper is the term for turning in paperwork to leave the Marine Corps.

It's what Paul did on Tuesday.

We are making the transition to normal people life, and we are excited about the opportunities for our family. He's excited about taking his (considerable, he's awesome) skills and applying them in the business world. I'm excited about the prospect of not sending him away to get blown up for half a year. And for having some kind of say in our family schedule. And our having a little more control over where we live.

The Marine Corps is drawing down, and is offering a severance package for artillery officers, among other groups, to separate from the Corps earlier than retirement. It's a significant package and effectively offers us reprieve from what is, to me, the scariest part about getting out and stepping away from a very secure, dependable paycheck situation. The economy is recovering slowly, so it will be nice to have a little more than a year's income socked away somewhere just in case.

What we don't know? Basically anything else. We have a standard Fischer spring, jam packed with activities and adventures, but after about May 15, it's just like The Nothing from The Neverending Story.

As in, that's about as much as I know about what we'll be doing. No idea where we're going, no real idea when other than sometime between June and August, no idea what our finances will look like...it's kind of crazy. I'm not super excited about missing registrations for private schools if we need them and summer camps, but what can you do? We just wait until the upcoming hiring conferences and see what's out there.

So now you know! We're getting out - it's official and this is happening. Yikes!