Va Bene

Moving to a foreign country is tough and requires a lot of paperwork.  Moving with the Navy is tough and requires a lot of paperwork.  Together, it’s a big pain!  During the entire process of gathering medical and dental records, getting passports, getting no-fee passports, and getting ready to have our first child, Matt was known to say “it will be alright.”  I am pretty certain he told our mothers this statement at least a hundred times.  And he said it to me several times.  After a few breakdowns, I think I really only had two, I started to say this to myself.  Like when I spent an entire day at the social security office with a newborn trying to get a social security number so we can apply for a passport , a no fee passport, and a visa before we fly cross country (one of the breakdowns).  Or when I was told that my oversea screening which was approved really wasn’t because I had a baby.  Or when we got to the east coast and Matt was leaving me for five weeks with a two week old.  Or when we found out the dog didn’t have the right chip and how getting the right chip might mean she has to be quarantined.  Or when we got into the single digit countdown and still didn’t have the baby’s visa.  This phrase was my mantra.  And Matt’s.  And guess what, it ended up being alright.   I think it is fitting that one of the first phrases we have learned in Italian is “va bene” which means “no problem” or “it will be alright.”