The housing privatization project has been moving right along. The number of residents on our street has steadily dwindled over the past two years, and there are only a handful of us left on this loop. I've talked about the privatization process before, but even then, it was still set into the future - not a true reality yet. Now, however, it's coming.
We received a letter in the first week of February from
AmericaFirst Communities, the company in charge of the project. This letter informed us that all residents in our area would be relocated no later than December 2006. Enclosed with the letter was a survey to fill out and return, answering a few basic questions (pending PCS [permanent change of station] orders, # of occupants, etc.), and there was also a line or two for "any additional information."
Well, we really love our current home, and I found it emotionally difficult to fill out the survey, if only because it meant making peace with the idea of actually leaving this street. As such, I only finally finished the survey this past weekend, and I included additional information with it - to the tune of an extra four pages!
I explained the reason why our survey was so tardy, and I took a moment to point out a few of the reasons why we love our current home so much. We've painted, we've carpeted, we've built, we've gardened - in short, we've LIVED in this home. So many other families only view base housing as "temporary," but from the moment we set foot in this house, it became our own. I told them the schools my children attend (as this could factor into a relocation), as well as the church in which we are members. I told them about the close proximity of Philip's second job. I told them how much we use our yard - for play, for gardening and for decorating. I told them of the way we transformed the labeled 'storage' room into an office for my home business. I told them of painting four of our rooms - bright, bold colors that would require a bit of work to paint over. I didn't mean to go on so much, but I have a tendency to become long-winded sometimes. In closing, I included pictures of the swingset, garden, outside decorations at Christmastime and one of our red living room walls.
We delivered the survey and "additional information" over the weekend. And then I bit my nails, wondering exactly what would come of it. I wondered if my lenthy letter would possibly offend, or worse, just be tossed aside. Instead, I've learned, the reaction was the opposite!
The doorbell rang tonight at about 7pm, and I opened the door to Mr. Tom York, the head of AFC. He and Philip knew each other (from ALS and from the squadron) before he retired as a MSgt. and took up this position, so that was a plus. We chatted for just a minute or two about Philip, and he knew of Philip's tour in Iraq last year without me telling him about it. (That was nice - having a feeling that the conversation was heading in the right direction, if he already knew a bit about us.) He then got around to business, telling me that our letter had been "passed up" through to him. I held my breath, still worried of the reception of the letter. I was so amazed to hear him say that he "read it, loved it and immediately decided to come speak to us in person." Whew!
We talked more, and he promised me a few things. He told me that, based on our letter, he had decided to move us the very last. He'd made this decision due to our wanting to plant a garden again this summer. He promised me that we would have the entire summer to play and to garden, that we would not have to move until the growing season was completely finished. That was FABULOUS news! We have a fantastic yard, and I'd been sad at the thought of leaving it before the summer was over. I was also relieved to hear him say that there would be "absolutely no need" for us to repaint the house. We'd heard conflicting information, so that was wonderful news. The red and navy rooms would have been a tough time, I'm sure. He also vowed - knowing of our wants and desires in regard to yard (swingset, picnic table, swing, garden, etc.) - to keep an eye out for the largest yard he could.
*squeee*
Honestly, I couldn't ask for more, for anything better than those three things he was able to promise me tonight. I know that he and the other folks at AFC will do their best, their hardest, to get us into the best house possible in our relocation. I feel very confident in that. Nothing will be exactly like what we have now, but it will still be home once we make it so.
He told me our survey was the only one like it that he'd seen. I'm sure it helped us to stand out. And I'm so glad that I sometimes have a tendency to become long-winded. ;-)
Heather picked up A.J. from school this afternoon, and she was taking his somewhere to do something before she brings him home. She asked me if she could have him earlier in the week, and I didn't mind, of course. I don't know what they're up to, but I'm sure he'll be home before too terribly long.
