Ah, spring. That special time of year when the snow has melted, the birds are singing and… we’re left wondering what in the world we’re going to do for the next 10 months in Arlington, Virginia.

We were thrilled to be posted to Benin, but we were a little surprised to find out that we were not to leave until next March. When we moved to Arlington, I was very much in temporary mode. No need to decorate, we won’t be here long. A blender seems unnecessary, especially for so short a time. Buying salt is silly when I can just get a few little packets at McDonald’s to get us through the next two months.

But now that we know we’re destined to call Virginia home until next spring, things have changed. We’re researching weekend trips for this summer. I’m excited to see the Tigers play in Baltimore the last week of the baseball season.

And I bought a bag of flour at the grocery store last week, so you know we’re in it for the long haul.