he's back

I don't know how single mothers do it. Day after day. Night after night. Dave has been doing his somewhat annual work up in Boise. This is the third time he has had to do this. He is up in Boise during the week and comes home on the weekends. The first time was in the spring of 2007 for eight weeks. The second was in the fall of 2007 for ten weeks. When he told me he would have to go this time, he initially thought he would be leaving right when Anne was due to be born. The start date got pushed back to mid-April so I breathed a sigh of relief. Then it was decided that the transfer team would only go up to Boise for four straight weeks and then every other week for another month. So instead of ten weeks straight we were only looking at him being gone for six out of eight weeks. Suddenly this transfer looked like no problem. We have made it through the four weeks and really it hasn't been too bad. Believe you me I would definitely rather have Dave here but I've been doing okay this time around. I am going to give credit to a few things that I think have made the difference.

• First of all, just the psychological break of knowing I would only be facing six weeks alone instead of ten . The last transfer was really hard for me so anything seemed doable in comparison.
• Dave's sister, Megan, has been coming over two nights a week to help out. She does the dishes. She plays with my kids. She babysits so I can go shopping. She is a lifesaver!

• The weather has finally started to warm up so we have been able to enjoy being outside. The kids are totally enjoying the swingset in the backyard. I have awesome neighbors with great kids who play with mine. They make movies, walk dogs, ride bikes, and play soccer.

• I have awesome friends who brought me dinner a couple of times. Instead of cereal for dinner we enjoyed chicken pot pie and chicken and pasta. Yum!
• I've said lots of prayers and taken lots of deep breaths.
  

Still, we are super glad to have Dave back for a whole week before he leaves again. There is someone else to hold the baby, to discipline children, to wash dishes, to read stories, etc., etc.


And he brings home great treats!