Last Day

This is the kids last full day and Grandma and Grandpa's. They went to the science museum and apparently Miss E got to stand in a bubble. She said it got her hair bubbly when it popped. They are having a great time.

As for me, I am enjoying the quiet. Not just the quietness of the house, but the quietness in my mind as well. There is such luxury in only considering your own needs and schedule as you plan your day. Normally on the days I work, in the morning I outline for Peter what the pick ups and drop offs are for the day, what's for dinner, if he has to cook, what each kid needs to work on/take with them, etc. As I drive to work I mentally calculate where everyone is and make sure I didn't forget to tell Peter something. At the end of the day, I normally feel immense family pressure to be home for dinner. Since we eat at 5, that means I need to leave work at 4:20 which is really hard during tax season. But I do it, without complaint, because I know that is what Peter and the kids need me to do.

Usually my schedule come last in our family. And that truly is fine with me because that is the way it has to be. Peter's job is not flexible. We need him to work OT and attend in-service trainings and all the other necessities that come along with being a firefighter. My job is to keep the family running and work on the side. I am thankful that my parents own their own CPA firm and are willing to employ me on such a willy-nilly basis.

For these few days though, it was quite freeing to just think about me. Get up to a quiet house, drive to work with a quiet mind, work, help my mom, meet a friend for drinks, come home and eat leftovers again. Or chips and salsa. Or anything that I didn't have to cook. It's almost like a glimpse of a life I might have had, if I had made different choices.

I'm so glad I made the choices that I did and that I have the noisy, chaotic, wonderful life that I do. Tomorrow when the kids come home I will eagerly greet them and even will happily handle the trip hangover that they are bound to have the next day. But for now, I have one last day of quiet.