We Got the Letter, Now We Look to the Next Round of Changes

It is official.  After the testing, interviews and waiting - my FF will be entering paramedic school in September.  I couldn't be more proud, but he seems to be dealing with mixed emotions.  He has not had that big fire.  I think he is afraid he will miss out on it or get rusty if he is in the box for a few years.  I am certain he will be just fine.  I am also looking at it from a practical aspect.  We have lost $32,000 combined in salaries.  I left the public schools in order to be able to afford a private education for our kids and he left the public schools in order to follow his dreams.  Any money we can get back will help make life a bit more comfortable.  I am also looking to the future. My FF came into this life a bit late in the game - he is 35, his classmates are in their 20s.  He would like to work as long as I am working, but I am not sure he could fight fires that long.  I am planning on teaching well into my 60s - I enjoy it.  I am not planning on being a 55 and out kind of gal (although I would be teaching for 34 years if I did!).  If he is a paramedic, when firefighting gets to be a bit more physically than he is comfortable with, it allows him to work a bit longer.  I think it is a good move for us. He agrees and is looking forward to being the paramedic that gets put on an engine in a few years - best of both worlds.

What is interesting, however is the schedule change.  He will be going back to a quasi normal schedule - 8 hours days - and I am not sure I will like it. Ironic, isn't it?  Mind you, he is on a schedule that includes 3 out of 4 days ON starting this Friday, so I might be singing a different tune in a week. I think I might have actually begun to adjust to this wacky schedule.  I have started scheduling kids' appointments and having time scheduled when he can take the kids for me, etc.  This '9-5' schedule will be going on until the new year when he finally gets back on a rig.  Never thought I would be actually miss this goofy schedule!  But - on the bright side, he will be home for all of the holidays AND for the 2 kids' January birthdays.

So, now we are on to this next phase of our journey as a fire family.  I am certain that this will be a much smoother transition.  I have adjusted a year of curriculum to pull from and am starting from scratch for next year.  I have learned how make things work, get the kids going, who needs to do what.  I will also have all four kids in one place, rather than having to drop each of the girls off at a different location before the boys and I begin making our hour journey to school.