Starting the Tail End

I've spent many moments reading blogs of other FSOs and learning about the trajectory of a foreign service tour - the initial excitement of being in a new place, then the depression associated with the knowledge of permanently living in a new country and not having any family or friends nearby, the upswing once you've become comfortable in your home and have been at post awhile and then last but not least, the bittersweet end when you know it's time to go but it sucks to say bye to the people you so painstakingly made friends with and might not see again in the near future.

For me and the hubby, we've semi-started the countdown. You know you feel the end when you meet someone new and in the umpteenth time you tell them how you live in the UK for a diplomatic tour. Lately we realize when we're repeating the spiel that we've been saying we're at the tail-end of our tour. 8 months left at post, it feels a bit surreal. Hubby is done with his hard-fought MBA and looking for a job here/Cairo. When I window shop, I start telling myself to look away from the cute short dresses and to focus instead on the flowy long sleeve blouses that are more appropriate for 2 years in a desert-like environment. We're in a frenzy planning our last Eurovacations, especially with family visiting in our last months at post.

London, it took awhile to warm up to you but now I love you! It'll be so hard to leave you in June!