…here! I was offered an extension at my current department and accepted! This means I will be remaining in North Carolina until the end of October! Then, I’ll be off to Israel immediately afterwards!

I’m so excited to be able to stay here longer! These peeps have come to have a very special place in my heart, so I look forward to being able to continue to make and deepen relationships here!

The original plans for this weekend were to go visit friends in DC, but two co-workers got COVID within a week of each other, so I was asked to work Friday, which I had been scheduled off for.

While it was a bummer to cancel plans, the weekend ended up being fun!

For starters, I was able to come in late and leave early from work Friday! I drove to a coffee shop and enjoyed a latte while reading for an hour.

Then, I got to do something I haven’t gotten to do in a very long time…BALLROOM DANCING!

I caught wind of an event from one of the guys from Fort Bragg and jumped on the opportunity! It was called Dancing Through the Decades and it was a blast!

We met at a gazebo and the event started with a lesson, in which the group would all learn a new step, then rotate partners to practice. It was great getting to meet new people and dance with people of varying skill sets!

Then, we learned a move popular for each decade and then music would be played from that decade for a while before the next decade’s move was taught!

The moves we learned with each decade were: 20’s- Charleston, 30’s/40’s- Big Apple, 50’s- Madison, 60’s/70’s- Brooklyn Shuffle.

The Charleston was the only one I’d heard of before, so it was great to learn some new things!

Though Josh and I were the only ones to show up from Fort Bragg and the North Carolina heat and humidity were unforgiving, we refused to let any of that get in the way of us having a good time!

It made me realize how much I miss dancing and was grateful to be able to dust off what I learned with a gracious new friend.

Saturday, a goodbye party was hosted for Cory, a soldier who will soon PCS (Permanent Change of Station- yeah, I can speak military now) to Germany.

While I have generally felt very welcomed by people here in Fort Bragg, Cory has been particularly kind and engaging. I’ve appreciated how he’s always made an effort to say hello and the ease which he brought to every conversation and event. It was good to be able to celebrate the time we’ve had with Cory alongside others who care for him and value his friendship.

It was impossible to be part of a sending off and not think of my eventual own. The bittersweetness has been stayed for the time being, extending from the end of July to the end of October, but it is coming. The key, as it has always been, is to savor the time I have and make the most of what I’ve been given.

I look forward to what is in store in the coming weeks, forseen and unforseen! Either way, an adventure is in store!