Lucky Number 3

So it's been a long time since we've written, I know. Of course, I figured these long absences would not happen until we were actually in the Peace Corps and had a good reason for blogging inconsistency... hmmm. But as August comes to a close, it's about time to at least try to do some catch up, so here goes...

I always remember hearing that "things in life often come in 3's", and this phrase has always irked me slightly because I figured that if you try hard enough, you can always find 3 related items that could fit a situation... right? (But then again, Dan Brown has shown us how the meticulous weaving of conincidences can change whole theories of numerology and theology... remember? And he did it fabulously!) Similarly, the phrase "3rd time's the charm" has always bugged me slightly, because I always figured that after two major failures, a reasonable person might consider other alternatives... fair enough? (But then again, we do live by the quip "If at first you don't succeed, try [that's 1], try [that's 2], try [that's 3!] again." And isn't that true American idealism?!)

So maybe these shouldn't be such bothersome little phrases....

Thus, ironically, Adam and I have recently been grasping tighter and tighter to these little phrases as we await our final confirmations for Peace Corps service. Let me explain:


THE "3RD TIMES THE CHARM" CUR(S)E:

1. We were told in 2007 that we might not qualify for service because we didn't have the correct work experience. This hit us hards. So we found jobs in applicable fields and, after 9 months in our new specialities, we were "qualified".

2. We were told in 2008 that we would need to finish our degrees in order to have the correct educational experiences. This was devastating. So we extended our deferral, finished our degrees, and now 11 months later, we are "qualified" again.

3. So is this our lucky try #3....? We'll see...


And as for the latter... THE "THINGS OFTEN COME IN 3'S" CUR(S)E:

1. We received our legal/placement clearance from the Peace Corps in May, 2009.

2. We received our dental clearance from the Peace Corps in July, 2009.

3. So is medical clearance our lucky item #3....? We'll see...


To be sure, while we have already been told that we are to leave for Africa in January, we will not be certain of our service for some time still. And again, to be sure, we wait not-so-patiently for those final confirmations.

Nevertheless, we keep up all our hopes that after nearly 3 years of waiting, we will hear in less than 3 months (which also happens to be about 3 months prior to departure) that we are set to leave for our 3-day domestic staging and our 3-month in-country training - the first and second phase of the 3-phase Peace Corps process which will define the next three years of our lives...


I'm still waiting to open up a fortune cookie that will tell me that, indeed, our lucky number is 3.