Beyond Survival

We are at the tail end of a 9 day Erik absence, and I've gotta say, we're doing ok. I mean, granted, we miss him like crazy and we can't wait to have him back (especially with the approximately 100 pounds of stuff he's bringing back for us - yay for Elite status on United). But we've survived. In fact, I think we're actually at a place where we can go beyond surviving when he's gone.

This wasn't always the case.

Back when the kids were little and Erik would travel a few days at a time, I would tell myself that I had to wait at least a few hours after he came back before I dropped the kids in his lap and ran. Since then, I've built up my single parenting muscles a bit. But more than that, it really does get easier when your kids are older (as long as you don't keep having kids. For those of you who keep having them, I make no promises).

We managed to not only do school this week, we really enjoyed it at times. We ate meals that didn't involve me looking in the refrigerator and wondering what I could do with 2 eggs and a cucumber. We actually ate balanced meals! With vegetables! We went to the park with friends and I had adult conversations while the kids played. I got up almost every day and prayed and exercised before the kids got up. I went to a party by myself. I hosted a gathering at my house. The kids played outside for hours and I stayed at home and did things I wanted to do. We read and played games and enjoyed each other. More than once I thought how great it is that I get to be home with my kids.

So all in all, it was a pretty good week. This is a gift! I'm so glad we've come to this stage in life. Now if I could just get my husband to stay and enjoy it all with us.