Excitement is in the Air

There is much excitement in the air, after all we have much to be excited about...

Our deployment chain is down to just one last link. Clara wanted the last link to be a yellow one, I thought it fitting.

Even Jonathan shares in the excitement!

And I tied a yellow ribbon around our tree. For just a moment, it was fun to see myself through Clara's eyes as she proudly told all her friends, "See the ribbon my mom tied on the tree. She made the bow all by herself. It's for my dad, he's coming home soon!" Why do I stress myself so, when making a bow is all it takes to impress her?

So, yes, we are very excited and very ready to have Chris home. It will be nice to have my partner back, to be able to talk to him when I want to, and not just by email. It will be nice to have the 'fun' element he brings to the kids. It seems I get so task oriented, esp. while he's gone, just to make it through. The kids need their Daddy. He brings the energy - the fun. He shows the kids it's OK to break the rules once in a while and reminds me it's okay, and even expected of me to relax and be goofy once in a while.

I'm looking forward to cooking real meals and not just ones I know my kids will eat. Looking forward to having help with bath time and bedtime routines. Looking forward to someone to spend my evenings with after the kids have gone off to bed. Looking forward to snuggling and feeling his arms around me. Looking forward to just having a break.

I know, soon, the excitement will give way to adjustment. Adjustment to having someone else in my space, adjustment to having to share my children's affections with someone else, adjustment to someone else in my bed (I've been sleeping in the middle of our queen size bed for 6 months now). There will be more laundry, TV shows I don't want to watch, sports on the TV (I am PROUD to say, there has not been a single sport shown on our TV for six months!) I'll be tripping over size 13 shoes in the living room again, and he will find it necessary to leave the contents of his pockets on the kitchen counter every night.

I can't wait!!!!