This Is It.

Few more days left.

I don’t know how to start this without being too emotional. This has been stagnant in my draft for a couple of weeks already. But I need to vent out. Remember my previous post the last time?  

Allan will be leaving in a few days bound to an African country with Arab culture and European charm for an out of the country job.  After 2 years and 4 months from the last time he came home from his work abroad, he will be back to his old work environment set up once again. The sad part is, this will be our little family’s first Christmas that we're not complete physically.

For the previous month, a lot happened in Allan’s career; all came in during the month of October providing him with three options which later on became two!  First, he received an overseas job offer that I don’t want to elaborate anymore, I have to thank Sis Krissy for helping me in my queries that time, but eventually the first plan did not materialized because of some reasons but in God’s grace, I believe that all of them are for the better because there is something coming a lot better than that.

Second, surprisingly is another overseas job offer. His previous Japanese project manager when he’s still in Oman called him asking if he’s willing to join the team again in their Algeria project. The job offer landed on his lap since this is also his beloved company plus he’s already inclined to that kind of work, not to mention that they’re the same people he’s going to work with so there will only be a few adjustments on his part. Practical-wise, the perks and benefits are really awesome and will be really helpful for his career advancement and for our financial stability. 

And third, to make things even harder for him to decide, he just got promoted from his current work, a flattering inducement for him to change his mind.  That time, our options are already down to second and third. How tough is that?

God is really good to us for these blessings and it’s really up to us on what we think is the best opportunities for us. Making decision is really hard; we really have to weigh the pros and cons for a lot of times and think of all the possibilities. Kung pwede lang sanang best of both worlds kaso hindi naman pwede. 

Our constant prayer at night is for God to lead us to the best decision, that whatever his plan for our family, we will embrace it because we lift up everything to him.

Of course this is not an overnight decision. we talked about it a lot of times, his point of view, my point of view. We also asked for some signs. Then finally after a lot of evaluation and assessment of the last two options, Allan chose Option #2 and I agree and support his reasons. So when November came no matter how tempting and ego-gratifying Option #3 is, he finally tender his resignation since he’ll still have 1 month transition period while they're looking for his replacement although initially the bosses are trying their best to make him stay. With this, my heart swells with pride for my husband because his immediate superior,his British boss even said that Allan is one of his team’s asset and it’s not easy for them to let him go knowing that they also have bigger plans for him and they’re eyeing on him to handle their other projects in the future because they believe so much in his capabilities. (One proud wife talking here) But we’re aware that along the perks of Option #3 also entails a lot of responsibilities and if ever he grabs the opportunity, para na din syang nag-abroad since magiging mas busy pa sya lalo and our precious weekend will  always be at stake because of his additional workloads and location assignments.  I know how dedicated Allan is to his job, that even though it’s not his cup of tea sometimes if the situation calls for it, he’s willing to learn and improve himself and he easily adapts to change and probably those are the qualities that his British boss saw in him. When it comes to work, he’s really at his best all the time. Kaya lang this time around according to the husband, he needs to do what he think is best for his family.

The reasons for his decision why he chose Option #2, we need to be financially stable especially Xian will start schooling soon, we still have our pending plan which is to build our dream house, and how about our other future plans that we want to accomplish on our given time frame and that would be more possible if he decided to work abroad again compare to Option #3. He needs to sacrifice to secure a better future like any other OFW’s main reason.

So yeah, we’ll be geographically-challenged once again and I hate the feeling.

Just the thought of being away from him makes me feel sad. Di na ako sanay. Although I’m not a newbie when it comes to long distance relationship.  Hubby’s first out of the country experience to work was last 2006 during our bf-gf days and he went to KSA, after a year he came home then a couple of months later, we got married.

 Then the second time was after we got married last 2008 and I was already pregnant with Xian, he left again to work in Oman and came home when Xian is 3 months old already. 

And now, he’s soon to embark on another OOTC job leaving me and Xian who’ll start schooling next year. Parang bawat alis nya may family milestone kami no? My sister even said that my tolerance now is different than before. It’s because yun yung pinapakita ko sa kanila. I have to support my husband, but deep inside talaga,naiiyak na ko. 

I’m not just thinking about myself anymore, but more of Xian. He’s a certified daddy’s boy, tandem sila eh. Allan saw his milestones, from being a helpless baby to the little man that he is now. And now in an instant, the little man will adjust to some unfamiliar set up. Although we try to explain to him in a way that he will understand why daddy needs to work “dun sa malayo” and told him that they will still see each other pa din naman everyday “sa laptop” at magpe-play pa din sila at mag-uusap sa phone anytime na gusto nya because daddy loves him so much even he’s far away.

Good thing communication has changed drastically in a way that makes the world seem smaller to bring back my sanity.

Now we’re officially down to our one week countdown. Haaay! :'(

 I know it will still be a Merry Christmas for us.