Connecting the Dots

By: Tara Blue

   “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something.” (Steve Jobs, 2005).

Approaching his army retirement date last year, my husband asked me where I wanted to go for our final military move. When you become accustomed to moving every three to four years, choosing where to permanently live can be a daunting decision. To move or not to move? That was the question.

  Our three teenagers, Tariq (15), Naja (13), and Jazlyn (13) were just getting settled in from the last move to North Carolina. From our experience, military moves become more difficult for the children the older they get, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily uproot them. After much contemplation, we decided that the kids deserve the best possible environment to flourish in, and relocating would be a better option.

   My husband then placed the decision of where to move on my shoulders. He proposed that I choose our final destination because I followed him around for 10 years during his army career. The choice was then easy. Out of all the places we had been stationed (Virginia, North Carolina, Washington, Alaska), none of them have truly felt like home the way Missouri does.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal