Meeting the Real Thing (2)

Reading about a place, and then living there, are two quite different things. One of them can lead to the other. It did, in my case. I personally adored reading about the United Kingdom, all parts of it. But even better was the moment I heard we would be moved, lock stock and barrel, to its shores.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherweaver/3171294458/
No one does this moving thing better than the military. You should experience it! When we had joined the Air Force, we were excited to go to our first base in California. I could hardly believe my husband when he said, "They are going to move us there."

"MOVE us? What exactly does that mean, move us?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"Well, we are being stationed in California, and because of that, the Air Force is going to send someone to come here and pack us up."

"Oh. Don't I need to box up the dishes?"

"Nope."

"Tell them what to put into each box?"

"Negative."

"Do I need to---"

"No, you don't need to do any of that. They will do it all. In fact, they said if we don't empty the garbage cans, they will pack the garbage."

Pack the garbage. My goodness, they sounded thorough. It was our first step into the Air Force, and I was getting to like this packing up stuff. It was all like being taken care of in the most wonderful way. It was like having someone think of us, and plan, and sort of surround us. Some people might not like that prospect, but I dove in head first and never came up for air.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pawel_pacholec/11272976224/

And did they ever pack us up! When they were done (the garbage cans were all empty), not one stick or stone was left in that house. It happened this way every time. And now, astonishingly, we headed for England - our first long term assignment. Tiny daughter and I flew together, over the pole, to float smoothly down to that British Airways runway. I was already thinking of the yumminess of my first English scone. A dream come true.

I have always been a fan of the Real Thing, beyond just the dream of it. In our case, it was the military that helped our own dreams come true. It was 1982, and we were young. We believed in this country and its allies. We believed and were together in the mission. 

A life like this? Breathtaking. I highly recommend it.


See you along the way!
the SconeLady




photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherweaver/3171294458/">HeatherWeaver</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pawel_pacholec/11272976224/">Pawel Pacholec</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>