I think the first week back after vacation is always one of the absolute hardest weeks. Though we arrived back Friday afternoon, we were out of state for over three weeks. That was three weeks of no school for the boys, working remotely from my parents’ house for me, and no work for Ryan. That meant no housework, (relatively) no laundry, and very little adulting on our parts beyond date nights and spending quality time together as a family. Enter Monday, and we were back to school, back to business, and back to life as usual…especially with Ryan’s deployment less than 4 weeks away. So, when I say TGIF, I mean it. Seriously. It’s also been a good week though. We’ve done and accomplished a lot.
// On the work front, I mentioned I switched to the villas side of my company’s business a couple months ago, and I’m loving the change of pace. My boss is great, the creativity keeps flowing, and being able to write about travel in new ways is such a great change of pace. I’ll take it.
// Ryan and I went to our first ball here at JBLM last night. I’m 100 years pregnant – okay, I lie – I’m almost 30 weeks pregnant, but I managed to use good ol’ Rent the Runway, nonetheless. I wasn’t sure I’d be comfortable, but I was, and it was kind of nice to really dress up, feel something other than massively pregnant, and spend a night with this handsome guy. Meeting some of the other spouses/soldiers in his new company was definitely a plus, too. That said, nothing will beat deuling pianos for the 3-10 GSAB at Drum.
// We had our first meeting with our doulas last weekend right after we got back, and it was such a relief to talk with them about our birth plan, what we’re hoping to experience this time around, and how we we can make this final birth experience a great one. This was Ryan’s first (and last) time seeing them before baby, and we don’t know if he’ll be here when she arrives, so it was important for us to speak with them together and really discuss all our hopes.
// These little guys have had a bit of a rough go of it this week. It’s been like starting daycare all over again, and it’s definitely been hard on them…and me. Dropping off crying boys doesn’t make any mama feel good, but they’re happy and smiling within minutes of my leaving, and I know they enjoy it there, so I have to remind myself not to feel too bad. But TGIF for them, too, I guess.
// We received Ryan’s official deployment orders yesterday, and it kind of hit me like a punch in the gut. I knew he was leaving, heck, he knew he was leaving, but there’s something more official about orders in hand, and it sucks. We’re doing our best to soak up the little time we have left because there’s a lot to be done in the 3ish weeks we have before he goes. I won’t share exactly when and where he’s going because of OPSEC, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t secretly hoping the orders would never come.
So, while I sip another cup of coffee this morning (because going to bed at 10:30 post-ball is way too late) I’m feeling these TGIF vibes big time. I hope you all had a great week back to reality, and cheers to a great weekend ahead!
