The New Normal

Our new normal began today.


(The boys making ninja costumes for their teddy bears. I do not give them these ideas. I merely supply them with what they need!) 

It totally sucks.

No, really. A lot.



(More ninja outfits.)

Derek departed in the darkness of predawn (before the boys got up, which would have made leaving even more hideous for him...) and I spent all day being horribly lonely.


(Derek took the car seats out of the Corrolla to make room for luggage, Ezra spent a solid hour buckling himself in and then making me let him out again.) 

Which is ridiculous because it's not like I've never been away from my spouse before.



(This baby chatted with her Daddy on Skype tonight. She was GLUED to his face on the screen the whole time. His voice was thrilling for her. She's a baby genius.)

But, knowing it'll be a good long while between now and the next time I see him... just made for a very lonely day.

His day, driving across I-80 was worse. It takes four days to drive from here to New Hampshire.

FOUR DAYS.

Poor guy.

But alas, we pull ourselves up by our boot straps and onward we go.

We've done the separation thing before. The longest we've gone (married) was four weeks. It almost killed us both. This time, he'll be home in three but then gone again, and so on for who knows how long.

At least we have Skype.

And so, tomorrow, I'll smile. I'll take care of the kidlets, and I'll pray, ceaselessly that my other half, my soul mate in this life and the next gets his butt to Gary Indiana (the second stop on his journey) safely.

Cuz I married him for a reason. I like him a lot. I'd like him to get there in one piece.

Somewhere in this new normal, Mama has to figure out when to shower...