With the opening of the front door yesterday, my world was at peace.
On September 1st last year, my husband set out for a year-long assignment on the other side of the world. We were able to see him three times over the course of the year, a fact I’m most grateful for knowing that there are many families who go much longer without a reunion. His return at the end of the assignment was what I’d been holding my breath for for so long. All of the everyday events of the last year that he’s missed, the end of the day conversations where we’d soothe each other over the trials of the day or laugh at the silliest thing the kid had just done or discovered– I so missed that. And my girls missed that. They’re bubbling over with the excitement of sharing what they’ve learned and made since we last saw him, and he was in the door for less than three minutes before they’d both pushed him into a chair with a pile of books to read to them. (They kind of acted like I’d not read them a single book since he’d been gone. Hmph.)
And I couldn’t help but cry. Cry out a whole big pile of anxiety that had welled up. Cry with relief that we’d made it and that I don’t have to say that goodbye again. Internet chats are an amazing tool to have, and helped us all get through the days. But it’s no replacement for real faces in our space together. Funny, I think, that now that our world has settled and been turned right-side-up, my girls have spent much of the last two days flying through the air and up-side-down. Those are daddy tricks, for sure.
In a few weeks we’re going to do some exciting things. Spend time with family and friends, go to a wedding, put our toes in the sand. But for now we’re in hibernation/staycation mode. Which means I can do a few crafty things during daylight hours without trying to to keep my eyes on the hot iron and the two busy little sets of hands in the same view. And the responsibilities of responding to two little voices are shared. That in itself feels like a vacation. I’m torn as to whether I believe that I’ll get any more crafting that I want to do done. On one hand, I’ve got backup. Someone to help with all of the household stuff. On the other hand, I kind of like to hang out with him during the hours that I might have been crafty before. Does that come out even? We’ll see. I can be happy either way, I’m just having a hard time remembering what the balance was like more than a year ago. And it’s not really even a valid comparison because my children have changed so much. So, so so much.
Maybe I’ll even finish Liam’s crib bumper? |
Realllly turning back to crafty things, earlier this week we were able to update the “Our Tutorials” and “Stuff We Use” pages– the latter had been sorely lacking by not including Adrianna’s favorite rotary cutting mat thing-y. As if those updates weren’t fun enough, we now have Pinterest boards that display our tutorials AND a board that displays some of the things you’ve posted or added to our flickr group or e-mailed to us that were somehow inspired by something we’ve done. Pretty cool, eh? You can have your own crafterhours-inspired project added by adding your photos to the Flickr pool and we’ll pin it from there.
You’ve got another day or so to enter this giveaway and win a year’s worth of selling on Stash Slash and Mrs. Jewell’s Sewing Kit. We’re picking a winner on Monday.
There’s also more to tell you about custom grosgrain labels, I’m just a little behind on that. Soon.
KJ@letsgoflyakite says
I am glad your world is at peace. How wonderful it must have been when you opened the door.
Corinnea says
So very glad your husband is home safe and sound. Have tons of fun finding each other and balance again!
QuiltyGirl says
We just pulled through a similar situation. We’ve been reunited for 4 months ow, and I still don’t feel like I am back in the groove! But for us, the transition included a cross-country move, so I’m sure that’s part of it. I hope you find your balance soon. :)
Care says
I’m so happy for you and your family, Susan!!! :o)
Kelli says
So glad for you!! I can’t even imagine what the last year has been like. I hope each day now is filled with peace and joy!!!
Emily says
So glad he’s back!! :) Enjoy your time together. :)
emedoodle says
Glad your family is all back together! It’s really rough to be without a husband – mine was away for about a month and a half last year and it made me nearly crazy!
kristin says
I can’t imagine my husband being gone for so long – bravo to you for making it to the other side with your sanity! I’m always happy to hear about reunited families. Enjoy.
Anonymous says
HOORAY! I am so insanely excited for your WHOLE family! What a blessing:)–Janica