Part 7: What was I thinking?!

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I'd heard horror stories about getting through customs in Saudi, but I had no problems. I had packed everything that I thought I would need in our suitcases. Clothes, toys, books, my art supplies, my spindles and fiber..and my Bible (that is what I was really worried about). But we had no troubles there. After we passed through customs, Jason was there waiting for us. He looked so happy and relieved that we were finally there with him.

He drove us from the airport in Dammam to the ARAMCO compound in Dhahran. It was a bit surreal passing the machine gun nests as we entered the 10 square mile compound. Jason was excited to show us the house that he had prepared for us and the car he had bought and fixed up so that we would have transportation. I was so exhausted from the 24 hour-plus trip to get there, that I just wanted to sleep. But when I went to bed that night I just cried. I missed Steph and Paul so much. Everything was so different there.

Henry loved it there. There was a park right across the street from our house. The compound was kind of like 1950's America. Women stayed at home and went to club meetings. The kids were in little league. We got Henry registered for school and were amazed to find that the class sizes were small. There would only be 15 kids in his class. He and Jason got to come home for lunch every day.

I didn't even have to clean house while I was there because we had a house boy. All I did was read, paint and spin. They even had church services there (on Fridays... the weekend was Thursday and Friday there). But I was miserable and I was making Jason miserable.

I can look back now and remember the good things about my time in Saudi, but when I was going through it.... it was terrible. I felt so guilty about leaving Stephi and Paul. Steph seemed fine when I talk to her on the phone, but Paul. Oh, talking to Paul made me feel so bad. He was as depressed as I was. He missed me, he missed his sister, he missed his friends. Jason kept telling me that they would be fine. That if I stayed I could travel home for holidays and for 3 months in the summer.

I knew that God wanted me to be there with Jason, but I became less and less sure of why. I was so sad. Jason and I argued all the time. I thought for sure that there was some great purpose for me there... but I never learned what it was. I complained and complained until Jason couldn't take it anymore and we came home in November, less than 5 months after I got there.

Jason came with us and we had a great Thanksgiving with our family and had lots of interesting stories to tell. Jason returned to his job in Saudi a few weeks later and I started job hunting at home. I thought that I had made it through the toughest time in my life - but my greatest trial was just around the corner.

Part 6: Saudi Arabia

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After Jason went back to work at the Cardiac Cath Lab at the hospital and I went back to work at the SNF, I think Jason started to worry about money.  I mean, we had enough.  We were making it OK, but it wasn't like when he was in sales.

He met a guy at work who had worked overseas and had made a lot of money that way.  So Jason looked online and applied for a job with ARAMCO (that's the Arabian-American Oil Co).  A month later they called and he went to Houston, TX to interview for the job and long story short, he got it.

That was in the summer, but with all the paperwork, the passport, the work visa... Jason finally left for Saudi in
October.  At first we were all going to go, but we learned that the schools on the ARAMCO compound only go to the 9th grade.  Paul was a sophomore and Stephi was a junior.  We looked at boarding schools and we found a nice Christian one in Oregon.  The kids were excited about it.  It was only 3 hours from my dad in Northern California and 1 hour from my friend Michelle in Oregon.  So we went to visit it.  It was great!  The kids applied and they were accepted.

The months went by and our visas were not approved... because I was taking Zoloft.  Of all things!

Jason said that the first few months over there were the hardest for him.  We talked on the phone every few days and after the New Year he was able to come home for a few weeks.  It was so hard to put him back on the plane, but he told me that if I stopped taking the Zoloft that he knew he could get me cleared to join him finally.  So I weaned myself off (painful, and really deserves another post altogether) and I filled out the visa forms again.

In April, Jason told me that he finally got me approved to join him.  Only now Steph and Paul didn't want to go to boarding school.  Argh!  Steph was starring in the spring musical - she was popular here.  She had a boyfriend and would be starting her senior year in August.  And Paul didn't want to go without her.

So I made plans for Steph and Paul to stay.  My family and most of my friends didn't understand why I thought that I needed to go to Saudi to be with Jason.  Before I became a Christian I probably wouldn't have, but I knew that God wanted me to be with my husband.

The kids were supportive of my choice amazingly. I found a nice, young, Christian woman who was in college and working at the church nearby to stay at the house with Stephanie (who would be 18 in a few months).  My brother who lives in town said that Paul could stay with him, but he would have to change schools.  

On July 11th, 2005  Henry and I got on a plane and flew to Saudi Arabia.  

Saudi

My Thursday Fro' Me To You is about this picture.

In October of 2004 my husband decided to take a job with ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia. What can I say...the pay was REALLY GOOD. The original plan was for the whole family to go. Then we learned that they didn't have school for the (at that time) teenagers on the protected compound, only up to grade 9. I talked to the kids and we looked at Christian boarding schools. They finally decided that they would rather stay here in Arizona. Stephanie (nearly 18 at the time) stayed in our house with an older Christian girl from church and Paul (still 16) stayed with my brother. By July 2005 Jason had finally got me and Henry approved to join him in Saudi.

It was very difficult for me to leave the teenagers behind, but I knew that I'd be back to visit in 3 months. I just felt that God wanted me to be with my husband. It was a tearful goodbye at the airport for all except Henry. He was so excited to be taking this adventure. But when we got up in the air and he looked out the window to see the city and houses below, he started crying which made me cry again too.

It took us more than 24 hours to get to Dhahran, KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). We went from Phoenix to Denver to Frankfurt to Dubai to Dhahran. It was late at night when we arrived and Henry and I had to go through customs before we could get through to the area to meet Jason. We had brought 4 suitcases packed with clothes, shoes, computer games, books, art supplies, toys etc. I was so worried that they would confiscate my Bible, but they didn't even open our suitcases. What a relief.

After customs we finally saw Jason. He looked so happy that we were finally there. All the way to the ARAMCO compound he was telling me about the car he got so we get around easier, the house they assigned him and how we could decorate it, trips we could go on, etc. He was clearly so excited that we were finally there with him. But I was so tired and miserable (I had weaned off my Zoloft before this trip). Once we got to our house I couldn't stop crying.

The next morning we went to the Dhahran Mall so that I could get an Abaya. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I look back on our time in Saudi Arabia fondly now. I never thought I would.

Silence, Sweet Silence...

I just received a text from Jason that he and Henry are on the airplane and set to take off on time.  After staying up until 3am, I was up at 830 (and feeling very sleep deprived, I might add) so that I could drive Jason and Henry to the airport.

After the drop-off, I stopped-off at Walgreen's to pick up my Zoloft prescription.  I've been working at weaning myself off Zoloft AGAIN.  The last time I did this I was taking 100 mg daily and had to go off it so that ARAMCO would approve me to go to Saudi Arabia (a long story).  After returning from Saudi and Stephi getting pregnant half way through her Senior year in high school, well, the stress was too much and I started taking it again, but after a few months settled down to 50mg daily.  But that was over 2 years ago and it is hard to lose weight while on SSRI's.  So I am weaning myself off again.  I'm down to 25mg daily and about to go down to 12.5mg.  So far I haven't had the horrible withdrawal symptoms that I had last time.  No nausea, headaches, dizziness, 'zapping'.  Of course I had been on 100mg daily for 7 years.  This time on 50mg for 2 years. Here's hoping.

I also picked up some Alli at Walgreen's.  That should help with the weight loss as well.  I'll keep you posted.

So, back to the silence.  It's so nice, I almost hate to go to sleep.  But since I have to work tonight, it's not a good idea to stay awake.  Off to bed for me.