Saying Goodbye to Sweet Daddy

The summer of 2017 changed our lives forever, all because of a seemingly innocent call from a recruiter while we were visiting Jeff's Dad in Florida. Jeff gets these recruiter calls all the time, so it wasn't unusual. When the recruiter mentioned that he had a job opportunity in Dubai, Jeff asked me what I thought. Apparently my eyes got big and I said, "Cool!" and Jeff agreed to talk further about the position. Neither one of us thought it would go anywhere.

The first interview turned into a second, and the phone interviews turned into video calls. With every step, Jeff moved further along in the interview process and our eyes got a little wider. We just kept thinking it would fizzle out and never materialize. In the beginning of the process, we explained to the kids that the probability of everything falling into place was low. But after Jeff was asked for a 3rd and 4th interview, we had to have serious discussions with the kids about the possibility of moving to Dubai.

Most people we talked to were surprised but also incredibly supportive. Why would we consider uprooting our family and moving to Dubai for a job? A move overseas was something we discussed and wanted to explore earlier in our careers, but the timing was never right since we had Collin and Kevin to consider. When they were grown and out of the house, Jeff and I no longer had the possibility of an overseas assignment because I wasn't working full-time and he wasn't working for an international company. When this Dubai opportunity came along, we were still in agreement about the many ways we thought it could benefit our family: broadening our horizons, international travel and experience, exposure to other cultures and ways of life, and of course, the possibility of financial gains. With all of those things in mind, we decided to take this big leap of faith and see what God had in store for our family.

My favorite photo from a farewell lunch with Kevin before Jeff left for Dubai.

In accepting the new job in Dubai, Jeff would begin working right away while the kids and I stayed back in Katy. The plan was for him to start out with a 3-month probationary period to make sure the job and the new city would be a fit. In the matter of a few weeks, Jeff went from having a stay-at-home-Dad role to starting a new job across the world. We weren't going to see him for weeks and at the time it felt so uncertain and scary. We prepared the kids as best as we could, and we made sure to soak in the time together in Jeff's final days at home before leaving for Dubai. Looking back at the pictures, our eyes are all puffy and red-rimmed. It was an emotional departure for all of us.

It broke my heart seeing Jeff and the kids say goodbye. We are a tightknit family and it was hard to imagine what our daily lives would be like without Sweet Daddy being there, especially after he had been home all summer.

One of the ways that Jeff tried to help the kids was by leaving them surprise notes tucked away throughout the house. They began finding some notes even before Jeff left, so they knew there were more messages to look forward to while he was away. Sometimes these brought smiles and other times they brought tears.

Probably the uncertainty of the situation was the hardest for all of us. How soon would we see Jeff again? Were we going to confirm the decision and move across the world? How would our lives change with friends, home, school, and of course, our beloved family? We leaned heavily on prayer and our faith to get us through the uncertainty. God was in control!