Getting the Facts Straight

The Jerome family will be (hopefully) off on an adventure next week. I've been telling different people little bits and pieces, not sure of who has gotten the whole story. So I will begin at the beginning......

Darrell and I met at Aviano Air Force Base in Italy in 1996. He was in the Air Force and I worked for the Federal Government at the Youth Center, basically running before and after school programs as well as spring break and summer camps for school-aged children of active duty members. We were married in Italy in September 1997 and moved back the United States in November 1999. Darrell lived in Italy a total of 8 years (split between Naples in the south and Aviano in the north) and I lived exclusively in the Aviano area for 5 years. Darrell went back for a visit briefly in 2001 but I have not been back since. Last May, our mutual friend, Tanya (who was my maid of honor at our wedding) contacted us and let us know she and her family were back at Aviano and would love to have visitors. This information started a longing in both Darrell and I to take our family back to the area where we lived, met and married.

We were actually trying to plan this trip in the Fall of 2009, but to our delight, we had several family members from Iowa and Colorado arrange visits with us, so our calendar was booked. We started to look at the Spring of 2010 and the pieces began to fall into place. We are going to attempt to fly free as a benefit of Darrell being retired, but that will mean all five of us will have to have lots of patience and flexibility. There are military flights that go out of the Baltimore-Washington International airport regularly, so that is where we will be going. Our wonderful friends, the Shullenbarger family, have graciously invited us to stay with them in Maryland and keep our car if we can get out. So here's the catch.....no tickets, we fly space available and we are priority 6....which means there are five other types of passengers that will get called for seats before us.....and we need 5 seats! The trick might not be getting over to Italy, but getting 5 seats back! So if you've followed me so far, here's our plan.....we will be heading to Maryland either Sunday or Monday, hopefully getting on a flight to Italy on Tuesday, staying either one or two weeks (depending on what seat availability looks like for the flight home).

Plan B: we have a friend in Germany....maybe we can fly to Germany and get to Italy? Plan C: we have a friend in England, maybe we'll go enjoy England? Plan D: we don't get a flight out and spend some time in Washington D.C. doing a mini-vacation there. Plan E: try again in the Fall.

There you have it....the details as I know them as of this minute. Please pray for us.....that we have patience with whatever plan God has for us....that Darrell and I don't lose our minds and go with whatever happens....and whatever happens, that we grow closer as a family and create in our children a strong faith and a sense of adventure. I'll keep you updated......