My blog has taken a back seat to life the last 18 months. I waffle between feelings of guilt for not recording the details of our life, and the realization that I actually CANNOT do it all.
Steve has been working full-time on a light rail project in Los Angeles for the last 18 months (and off and on for the 12 months before that). He is gone Monday to Friday most weeks, so I'm on my own. We're hopeful that his assignment will be winding down by the time the holidays roll around, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
I've made the best of the situation in many ways. I've done a lot of crafty projects and sewing this past year. I've completely forgotten how to cook—a good night is scrambled eggs and toast. The DVR is set to record a whole bunch of shows that are of absolutely no interest to Steve (think Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles), and I watch them at night when the kids go to bed.
I've put 23,000 miles on my car since July 2013. But Steve has only put about 1,000 on his two vehicles combined, so as a whole, we're probably below average. The funny thing is rarely do I drive more than 5 miles in any direction from home!
The old adage "absence makes the heart grow fonder" has proven true in our case. The distance between us truly has helped us to appreciate each other more. We try to make the time together count and not sweat the small stuff. And believe me . . . most of life is filled with small stuff.
The kids have missed having their dad around as part of their every day life. It's been a year of big changes, and more lie ahead.
Olivia is now a sophomore. 15 years old. Getting ready to learn to drive.
Jack is in 6th grade. Discovering that girls kind of dig him. Wondering when he's going to start sprouting armpit hair.
Grant is in 3rd grade. Has lost 8 and grown 4 teeth. Is creatively expressing himself in many ways. Case in point: His teacher told me today that she nearly fell over with laughter when reading Grant's latest essay, about my chocolate chip cookies. His first sentence? "The first time I tasted my mom's chocolate chip cookies, I fell into a coma for 3 days." Wow, who knew?
When I look at our 17 years of marriage, this has by far been the hardest . . . on both of us. For different reasons, but equally challenging. And yet, I know we've all experienced some tremendous growth, and for that I am grateful.
My goal for the next few weeks is to get caught up on the big happenings of the year so when I print my annual blog book, it's more than 2 pages long. Stay tuned!
