Non Sequiturs from an EFM

Welcome to the world of abbreviations. EFM stands for Eligible Family Member, and its what I and the girls are to the government. Eligible for all sorts of benefits because we are inextricably linked to a Foreign Service Officer.

Dave sat for a Mandarin exam, and scored a 1 out of 5. That's really pretty good, especially considering he quit studying over two months ago, and never worked at it full time. This makes a Chinese post in our future quite likely. Dave would like it to be soon, while he still remembers it. I'd like to get at least one post in between.

We turned in the Bid List on Tuesday morning. Because of the timing issues pertinent to the adoption, I don't feel we really had much say in the matter. We eliminated quite a few because the language training would take us too close to our suspected Gotcha date. Dave starred a few because the jobs are in his cone (economic) or in his regions of interest (Africa or India and Southeast Asia). But those of you lovers of Latin America who were hoping to sleep on our couch, don't worry yet. Having promised worldwide availability, we could be off for anywhere.

Overall, the transition to our newest home is going quite well. Adding in some structure for the girls today saw their behavior toward me improve markedly. Now we just need to add in some playmates, to see their behavior toward each other improve. That should happen quickly. We'll see friends this weekend, and go to church. I keep running into State Department families as I'm out. Between all of these social settings, they ought to exercise their social skills well.

Dave's away for these few nights, which is pretty crummy. I find Fairfax County easy to get lost in, and accomplishing anything with three little girls in tow rather difficult. I am crossing things off my To Do List with remarkable speed, really. We now have health insurance, which is an immense relief. Also appointments with dentists and pediatricians. Sophia is enrolled in school, and Lilly will be after her physical next week. But I'm also longing for some neighbors to simply gather with at the playground. Although our apartment and location are quite nice here in the overflow apartments, I am beginning to wish that we'd been placed in the State Department's standard temporary housing. Hopefully my spirits will rise when Dave returns tomorrow night.