Espana...eventually...maybe

 Sigh...It's just been so very long!!!

Mitch and I committed to the Expatriate program with ADM in November of 2020. But here we are in July of 2021, still waiting. I wonder if things were always this difficult, if they always took this long. Or are we just stuck in a holding pattern due toCovid. 

At first we were held up by the US Government. I may as well start from the beginning...

We committed in November. ADM announced it December 11th, even thought I had requested that the information not be shared. Mitch says he passed that information along, but regardless...it didn't happen. I wanted so much to get through the holidays before springing it on our kids, and the rest of our family. But on December 12th, Leah (thankfully) intercepted a message from a fellow ADM Kid on the ipad for Hattie. At that point I knew that we had to start having converstaions. 

That day in particular, we were having Christmas with my family in Charleston. Gigi already knew that the relocation was in the works. I don't keep much (if anything) from my mom. But Uncle Matt always goes out to the garage to check out the goods in the gun safes. So when I heard the garage door I followed him out, and spilled the news. Later when the kids were upstairs or downstairs or who knows where, I let Cynthia know what was in the works. 

Then the hard part came. after we got home, around 9pm we called the girls down and told them the news. Leah had already been privvy to the information. We talked to her when we were first asked and told her if she didn't want to go we would turn it down immediately. She was so relieved to not have to hold on to the information anymore. The news was met with different reactions. Kiersten was so excited "this is going to be awesome" she shouted ...while Hattie was almost immediately in tears. 

In the next week Mitch called his parents, I called my sister and news began to spread. We left for Arizona around Dec. 20th and a few days before Christmas we had our first phone call with our relocation team in Spain, Sebastian and Soledad. First on the agenda was prioritizing what schools we would like to consider for the girls. 

We had zoom calls in January and started the process of selecting what would be a good fit. The girls were taking entrance exams and we were moving right along. Most schools already had a wait list and we were getting a little uneasy about finding a school that would have a spot for all three girls. They passed their exams for American School and Iale. But unfortunately neither had openings for all three. We committed to Iale for Leah and Kiersten but were still on the hunt for Hattie. 

Come February everything came to a screeching hault. Spain is one of very few countries that requires a certain document from the US Social Security Office...and due to covid this division of Social Security was closed, and set to reopen the Monday after Easter, April 5th. And did I mention that they said it would take 6 months to process said paperwork?!?! Ugh...this isn't looking good. So we suspended relocation efforts while we waited...and waited and waited. 

We flew home from Arizona on Easter Sunday. From the airport Mitch sent an email to make sure that we were ready to hit the ground running with social security, only to get an automated response that previously mentioned division of social Security was now closed until July 6th. NOOOOOO!!! That's it...time to call it off. We can't be in limbo this long. 

But then, just a few short weeks later...Friday, April 30th to be exact, Mitch got an IM on his work computer at clovese to 5PM that relocation had our paperwork. Talk about a stressful weekend...waiting for Monday morning to get some answers. But we did get answers. We were told everything would move quickly, we were told me needed to get background checks and documents submitted ASAP. So that we did. I took that Wednesday off from work and Mitch and I went to Indianapolis for FBI background checks. We had all our paperwork ready to go a week later. Towards the end of May they were telling us we'd have our embassy appointment within  two weeks and our visas within two weeks after that. 

I'm feeling good, I'm optimistic. This puts us in Spain by mid-July. The schools have summer enrichment programs that can get the girls a head start on speaking the language. Yes...finally making progress! We get word that the borders are opening and Mitch may be able to go on a work trip. He even packs an extra suitcase for while we are in Arizona in case he gets the go ahead to travel. Spains borders open on June 6th...yes! Our paper work gets submitted on June 7th...yes!

June 9th...the Spanish Embassy has a Cyber security attack, and we're stopped dead in our tracks. 

You can't make this stuff up!!! For weeks Mitch and I are waiting, asking for guidance, trying to figure out our course of action. July 6th, I can't take it anymore, my nerves are shot. At this point are we even going to be there in time for the girls to start school?!?! What about school here?!?! Do I have them start the year?!?! And what about my job!?!? I was granted a one year leave of absence. We're more devastated. And even more so, this is just so unfair to the girls. They don't deserve this, they need some stability. And on July 7th they tell us that the embassy is up and running. They have processed everything that came in throught June 4th, our paperwork came in June 7th so we should know something in a few days. 

Our movers are scheduled for July 12th?!?! Surely we can't let movers pacak up our home while we have no visas...not even appointments to get our visas. So relocation reschedules our movers for August 2nd.Sigh...I don't know how much more I can take. Please pray with us that we have a visa appointment soon. Mitch isn't sleeping, the girls are anxious and unsettled. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I keep telling myself it will all be worth it in the end. I sure hope I'm not wrong. 

Update July 13th: residency approved...still waiting on visas.