Thank goodness for Labor Day weekend because it's been a little less than normal back at the Denbow homestead. Both kids have been sick this week, Brett continues to leave before we wake up and get home at the kids' bedtime because the Army doesn't do 9-5, I've had a 6' teepee in my dining room all week that has been getting a lot of my attention when children are sleeping, and a few other projects I've been needing to finish like yesterday.
Consider this an update to let everyone know why I haven't posted in four days. My magic wand stopped working. We're all on the mend and learning how to maneuver our long days without daddy with a better attitude than I've had recently. It's been nice having a few other Army mamas to vent to offline because as much as I like to keep things optimistic around here, I get pretty frustrated and need to complain just like the next girl. There's always someone that has it worse, there's always someone that has it better. As I told my friend, Ruthie, I'm trying to find my seasoned Army wife voice - the one that handles things gracefully - except I'm not that seasoned.
In the meantime, I'm digging out a little paragraph in this post to say that things have been a struggle this week and that I've not kept up with my responsibilities and have not slept enough and have let my kitchen sink spill over with dirty dishes and my couch hasn't been cleared of laundry in two weeks and Brett and I haven't had more than one hour a day together at home apart from our fantastic weekend getaway to have much more than a conversation about the kids and his schedule much less catch up with our hearts. (That's it, my little paragraph where I get permission from myself to complain.)
And yet we still have this change we learned about last month that has propped up my heart and helped even these long days be not quite as long as they could've been. I've really enjoyed making good friends with another Army mama who lives across the busy street and down one block and has kids the same age as mine. We've started carpooling! We've had some cooler weather and Ruby and I managed to enjoy a little walk in the woods yesterday. We found the prettiest black, white, and orange feather that a hiker told us was from a woodpecker. PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES!
My brother is getting married in about a month and we'll get to go back to California and see so many people and places I haven't seen in years. I've been 'liking' holiday ideas like it's my job on Pinterest during fever sessions with both kids camped on the couch. I've been leaning towards feeling more at home here in Co. Springs despite missing Springfield deeply. I've found some excitement about life in general that had gone into hiding over the summer.
Things have been hard but things are still good. Optimism wins today.
See ya real soon!
-Rachel
