Back to life. Back to reality.

The joke around our house right now is that Corey is surprised his children are not wards of the state. He only gets away with this because he expressed genuine and extreme gratitude for what I took on and succeeded at while he was deployed. For the first few days he was home, I forgot how to do everything. I ran into my neighbor’s porch with my car and Corey used a Magic Eraser to get the scratches off. I routinely left my keys in the door. I misplaced everything. I guess I was running on some hormonal surge while he was away that kept me from dropping all the balls and once he got home, I could not remember how to juggle anymore.

We are settling into a routine, and we do so around Corey, who is growing a beard while he’s on leave until February 1st. The boys went back to school on Tuesday. I went back to work on Monday. Corey is resuming his manly homeowner duties at a relaxed pace, but he is resuming them, so I do not complain.

About that. I complain. I admit this weakness. I also hover. He told me the other day that I needed to give him space to do something (it was something in the kitchen but I don’t remember what.) I agreed with him that this was a valid point, but it was a big ask. I had been left for a whole year to be the only person responsible for making things happen, and I cannot just cease that practice. He’s not critical of me like I wrote about when he was home on R&R in September. He does leave his clothes all over the bedroom floor and his shoes in the most unfortunate spots.

I nagged for a solid week about all his extra soldier shit being dumped around the house. He finally distributed ruck sacks and duffle bags to the upstairs closets, storage shed and carport until such time as an item in them needs to be retrieved. Out of sight not out of mind, because I still feel the clutter. He made a big effort just for me, so I can live with it. He’s had to actually move into the house. He was in it for such a short time in September that he didn’t really unpack his things. His shoes are still in a box in the closet. So he’s purged his clothes and organized the belonging he’ll resume use of. The boys and I had really spread out, so we’ve had to do some purging and moving around ourselves to make room for Dad. Merrily, merrily we roll along.

Having their dad home has made a world of difference to Jake and Landen. The only way to describe it is that something that was missing has been found. It’s even improved Jake’s attitude and behavior toward me. The other night Landen spilled milk all over the dining room table and starting sobbing and apologizing uncontrollably. Corey asked him what all the tears were for? He hasn’t spanked anybody since he’s been home, and he’s given no one any reason to expect him to fly off the handle over spilled milk. The boys are figuring out what Corey’s boundaries are now that they’re here full time, are a year older and have adapted to occupying the house with one adult. They know my buttons. They’re still figuring out his.

We bought Landen the game Trouble for Christmas. It was one of my favorite games to play when I was little. The four of us sat in the floor playing last night. Even Murphy joined. He played as a member of Jake's team. He first became intrigued by the popping noise, and sat and watched us play for a long time. Then that interest evolved into reaching out and slapping at Jake's blue pieces every time he popped the dice. See, I'm not making this up!

He's such a family member.

When Corey bought his car, Price LeBlanc gave him some sausage. Corey's cooked it a couple times for breakfast. This was this past weekend.

In October when I went to Houston for Dad's surgery, I bought two three-drawer chests in the least-expensive-ugliest-color available with the intention of painting them an aqua color. Two months later, when Corey got home, they had been assembled and primed and one coat of paint had been applied to one chest. We finished two coats of paint and two coats of polyurethane the week between Christmas and New Year's and moved them into the bedroom. I'm so proud that I (we) finished such a project. I did not enjoy a single minute of it, but the finished product is so good I've got another piece of furniture in the carport waiting to be sanded.

The Insomnia has miraculously disappeared. So has Jake and Landen's refusal to eat what I cook for dinner and to put on what I put out for them to wear without a battle, changes made immediately without Corey having to raise a voice or make any threats. It is a good time here, and we have a month more of him to enjoy before he goes back to work.

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