A Tentative Timeline of Our Travels

Nov. 21st: AC returns from SERE, only a little worse for the wear (nursing a scratched cornea that is supposed to heal cleanly, I hope!).

Nov. 22nd: A fun day of eating, hiking, and walking around our Alma Mater (there's so much new construction going on, it's crazy!).

Nov. 23: AC and I fly back to Corpus Christi.

Nov. 24-Dec. 1st: A frantic week of packing, cleaning the apartment, finishing my web site for my class, etc. Sadly I don't think we'll have a real Thanksgiving this year :(

Dec. 1st: Movers come pack up our stuff and put it in storage. We clean the apartment, turn in our keys, and check into lodging on base for the night.

Dec. 2nd: I go to Family Practice to have my overseas medical clearance form signed (which basically means that my health needs can be met by the facilities in Okinawa), we drive both cars (packed with all the stuff we'll need in Little Rock plus for our month long trip to the East Coast) to Austin for the night (~3.5 hrs.), I get online for my mandatory 3 hour final class meeting to present my final website to the class, and we collapse exhausted into bed.

Dec. 3rd: Drive both cars to LR (~8 hrs.), have dinner with AC's friend who's stationed there, and find a place to safely stow my car for the month it will be sitting there unattended (note to self: make sure jumper cables are in car in case it's completely dead upon AC's return).

Dec. 4th: Drive to Urbana, IL (~8 hrs., but in one car, thank goodness!) to spend the night and have dinner with my two cousins, J & M.

Dec. 5th: Drive to South Bend, IN (only ~3.5 hrs.) to spend the night at AC's aunt's place (his cousin from Chicago will also be there).

Dec. 6th: Drive to Cleveland, OH (~4 hrs., but the end is almost in sight!) to spend the weekend with AC's aunt, uncle, and two cousins, and drop off his car to leave with them for at least the next 4 years (I wonder if AC will experience separation anxiety from his beloved Neo?).

Dec. 8th: AC's aunt drives us to the airport, we fly into Manchester and rent a car to drive to Hanscomb, AFB where we finally get to see the Guimess!

Dec. 8-14th: Spending time with the Guimess and various other friends in the Boston area.

Dec. 14th or 15th: Either drive (NOOOOO!!! No more driving, I can't stand it!) or take the train (Yes, yes, more expensive, but oh so worth it, especially if the roads are icy!) or Chinese bus (hmmm, a possibility...) to NYC.

Dec. 15th on...:Seeing friends in NYC, spending time with my dad and his girlfriend, staying in their small but cozy (isn't that just a nice way of saying cramped?) 1-bedroom, nearly half-a-million dollar apartment that's just a block from Central Park.

Dec. 17th: Celebrate my dad's birthday (meanwhile my mom and step-dad arrive from CA and Moscow respectively).

Dec. 18th-26th: More time in NYC, but also in Stamford preparing for and then celebrating Christmas (although there's not much to prepare this year since we've decided on no tree or presents, just food), spending time with relatives, reconnecting with old friends from high school.

Dec. 27th: Mom and step-dad fly to CA for conference, AC and I return to NYC.

Dec. 28th-Jan 1st.: More frolicking in the big apple, celebrating New Year's, etc.

Jan. 2nd: Drive or preferably take the train to Philadelphia, spend time with friends in Philly/NJ.

Jan. 5th: AC flies to LR, I return to NYC via train.

Jan 5th-?: I spend time in NYC with dad, etc.

Jan. 13th: First appointment with REI to discuss IVF.

Apr. 4th: AC's cousin gets married in Maryland, we'll try to attend if possible.

May 20th: AC's school in LR ends.

May 21st-Jul 20th: AC returns to CC.

Jun. 27th: AC's friend gets married in MD; AC will definitely attend, while I'll attend if possible.

Jul. 21st: AC must report to New Mexico for additional training (he'll most likely drive my car to NM from CC).

Nov. 6th: AC graduates from NM training, drives my car to CA where it will be stored for three years while we're in Okinawa.

Nov. 30th: AC must report to Okinawa, and I'll join him as soon as I (and hopefully the baby) can.

Whew! What a year! A good deal of what happens this year and where I'll be will depend on whether the IVF works, how long it takes, whether I can fly and join AC, where I end up delivering (most likely at Yale New Haven in the very same hospital where I was born!), etc. This will no doubt be an exciting, but exhausting, year for us both. Looking at this schedule makes me feel a bit overwhelmed at times. It will be especially difficult for me to be separated from AC for so long if the worst case scenario is that I get pregnant but have to remain in NYC the whole time due to my health. AC is going to try to fly and visit me as much as possible if I can't travel. It seems crazy to try to accomplish IVF during this hectic time when AC will be in 4 different locations over the course of the year. However, if we were to delay IVF until later when we're in Okinawa and AC is deployable, there's no guarantee he'd be around for much of the pregnancy or birth either. If I undergo IVF in NYC, at least I'll be surrounded by family, many of whom are/were doctors (my dad's girlfriend is and my grandmother was an OB/GYN) who can take care of me and look after me in case anything goes wrong. In the end, if the result is a healthy, happy baby, it will all be worth it!