"Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before."  ~Erich Fromm


Welcome friends, family, and other folks. You join us just as our story begins...a family having been blessed with a chance to journey thru a strange new world~ Singapore.


July 8 no 9, 2:03 AM
Location: Delano, MN
Details: Three children and a dog sprawled out around the room among the crates, open suitcases, and piles.


So, one more night before the day we have been waiting for, for what seems like an eternity. When Ryan left for Singapore on May 1, we believed we would be apart for about a month. I've noticed that things seem worse when you've prepared yourself for something else. What I mean is~ this separation has been a killer because it has been extended and extended, again and again. 


Let me regress for a moment. For those of you who do not know the story of how we got to where we are right now, let me fill you in. About a year ago, Ryan was updating his Accenture profile and came across the question: Would you entertain international projects? At the time, he read it out loud in our quiet bedroom in Delano. We agreed that he would check the yes box. This decision was like checking the: Would you like to be a donor? box on our driver's licenses. Sure, I can do that-- in theory. I drifted off to sleep and dreamed of spending my days in little coffee houses in Italy. I liked coffee in my dream for those of you wondering. And, I enjoyed the views and the gondola ride until the trickling water in my dream woke me up. 

Fast forward to January of this year, when an email came across Ryan's inbox from a project in Singapore looking for experienced people in Ryan's talent area to work on a project. We laughed about it and decided it wasn't the time. After all, we were very involved in hockey, and the spring soccer season was coming. And, I mean really....Singapore??? So, he said, "No thank you, " and we moved on. Two weeks passed, and he received an email requesting a phone call. It became apparent very quickly that this project in Singapore was not just looking for talent...they were looking for Ryan. Over the course of the next month or so, the question of Singapore became a serious one. Ryan had just recovered from a second collapsed lung and was on his doctor's, wife's, and senior manager's do not fly list. Yet, Singapore was calling. 


Here is where we notice the differences in how Ryan and Traci deal with big decisions-- Ryan ignores them until they fester and begin to pus, and eventually they blow up and he has to deal with them. Traci, on the other hand, investigates, ok, and maybe, just a little bit, obsesses. Let's just say, thank goodness our internet isn't pay per view, because we would not have made it through the first night. I read expat websites, information about Singapore's bathrooms (yes, a first search, thank you very much), kitchens, cleanliness standards, food, people, language, schools, transportation, housing, and most of all Accenture's policies and procedures for international assignments.


Eventually, we hit the maximum overload on our information gathering, and the direct question was asked, "Will you accept a long term overseas assignment in Singapore for a year?" While it was still unknown whether I could get a leave of absence, we decided the opportunity this choice would bring for ourselves and our girls was too great to pass up. When life throws something like this your path, it's time to be open and accepting.


So, before long, Ryan was packed and on his way half way around the world (literally- you can fly either way and it is very close to the same time) to a country where he knew no one.


Our separation got extended after BHP decided to cut everyone from the project and postpone it for six months or so. Luckily, after some very scary days, Ryan reported that he was approved to stay in the interim and the eventual return to the project. But, the girls and I had to wait for the new interim project to be approved and assigned a charge-to number before we could make travel arrangements. After all, we needed to pay for our gold-plated airfares! 


This is where I decided that the saying, Good things come to those who wait, is not really reality. It is actually, Good things come to those who wait, and wait, and wait, and- yes you guessed it- wait some more.


As of now, we have known for about 12 days that we would be flying on Tuesday, July 10. 

The girls and I have decided that we can wait to see Singapore....it is Ryan that we are most excited to see right now. We have missed him. Even when he has traveled in the past, he has remained very tuned in and active as a husband and father. This separation has made that very difficult. We are ready to be a family again. 


I am going to get some sleep now that you know how we got to where we are. The girls and I will share a little bit about what we are thinking before we take off on Tuesday.


Nightie Night Friends.