Superbowl Sunday

Today is the first day I’ve spent with my entire family for almost 5 months. We put my husband on a plane bound for Texas that many months ago for his work assignment on the hurricane catastrophe unit after Hurricane Ike. He was supposed to be gone for 6 weeks. Yeah, that obviously didn’t happen.

He actually got home on Friday afternoon, but I ran away to Denver yesterday. I sent him and the kiddos to a birthday party without me (yes, I’m fully aware of the extent of my cruelty) and I went to Denver. I had no plans, no agenda. I just wanted to run away for the day. And it was a lovely day, the weather was just gorgeous and I was able to hang out with some dear friends for the day.

So tonight is actually the first evening since he got home that we’ve all been together. And it’s the Superbowl, which is always a big evening in our house. And even though my Colts are not in the Superbowl this year, my Steelers are (Go Big Ben!), so all is well in my football universe.

And it’s been strange. Strange to actually have to cook dinner again. Strange to not have to do the dishes. Strange that there was someone else around to put the kids to bed. Strange to have someone talking to me in what has become my quiet time of the day. Strange to have to wait for someone else to get in the car. Just strange. In ways that I never could have predicted.

In so many ways some of the things I thought would be the easiest to relinquish are the hardest things. Like bedtime. Before he left, I really didn’t like to put the kids to bed. But now I actually really like it. We got into a good routine and we figured it out. And now, I’m sitting on the couch watching the Superbowl and writing instead of listening to The Girl wiggle and sneakily play with toys. Or listening to The Boy sing himself to sleep with the Star Wars theme.

This is going to take some getting used to. Again.