A Charmed Life

Abigail working on a little math. I love the dress code for homeschooling.

Science experiment. It turns out, that layer of blubber on whales definitely keeps them warm in cold water!

I've lived a charmed life as an adult. 

As a homeschool mom, my kids and I spent our days learning together, playing, going on adventures, and basically doing whatever we wanted. Of course it wasn't all roses, and I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have, but it was exactly the life we chose to have - and we loved it.

Jon spent much of our marriage getting more education. He started out as an LPN, got an associate nursing degree, then a bachelors degree in nursing, and finally a masters degree in business administration. He loved working hard and never complained about it. He loved being a nurse and especially enjoyed being a manager....loving the people and wanting to help them become their best selves.

It was a charmed life, indeed.

We've reversed roles now. I've gone to work full time and Jon is homeschooling our kids. The reality is, given the circumstances, life probably couldn't get much better. Jon gets to spend his days with our kids - and he is so great about getting stuff done AND playing. I have a job that I genuinely love and believe in. We are both surrounded by great people.

But I miss it. I miss being cuddled up on the couch reading with my kids. I miss going to the zoo, the children's museum (always accompanied by a trip to Candyland), and on hikes with my kids. I actually miss cooking dinner for my family (I know - I'm as surprised as you are). I miss sewing and working on projects around the house. 

Jon is an amazing stay at home dad, but I know he misses his former life too. About a month before he retired, he was offered a position as a director of a new surgical center. He would get to build it from the ground up. The management position he'd been waiting for for years had also just opened up  10 minutes from home. All those years of more education and working hard were going to pay off.

I think I haven't been posting a lot lately, because these are the kinds of things I think of. And, more than anything, I want this blog to be uplifting. I want you to know that in spite of these hard things, we really are doing well...REALLY well. We are happy. We laugh all the time. Our kids are thriving. But reality is still reality. It's not what we chose. I hope that this blog is still uplifting, but perhaps you'll allow me the indulgence of just being real sometimes as well.