BUT, tomorrow he's back for good. Wow. We survived and grew and stretched ourselves in new ways. And I suppose those are all good things. But I still firmly believe families are better off together than apart and I'm glad we go back to being together tomorrow.
I'm going to try to put a positive spin on a more trying phase of life though - one thing this summer taught me personally was when to let go. I get really up tight about a lot of things - nutrition, education, media, parenting, etc. This summer I was forced to simplify life down to what really matters. We ate a few more boxes of Annie's Mac and Cheese. The kids watched a little more TV (thank God for Netflix - Daniel Tiger whenever we need it saved my sanity on a few occasions). Our kids are now registered to attend a solid preschool later this month. I yelled more than I would have liked, but we also snuggled more than usual. I spent more time on facebook in an attempt to feel like there was at least some form of adult interaction in my life on a daily basis.
And you know what, life is just fine. So I might not always bake all of our bread from scratch. And I might get tired and reach for the easy dinner. And sometimes I might rely on a TV show to allow me to shower and blow-dry my hair in peace. And I may not end up homeschooling the kids. And I might waste entire evenings online (while also painting about half of our apartment though!). And when it all comes down to it, I might realize I'm even farther from perfect than I originally hoped.
But my kids are sweet and loving and helpful. And we all know how deeply we love one another. And our family will be back together again full time starting tomorrow evening.
And that right there is all we really need to hold on to in life.
