If I had it to do over again...

People are always asking me how I do it with Tyler gone all the time. Just like anything else, you do what you have to do and hope you're doing it right. I try to never think thoughts like, "I can't wait for Tyler to get home. Then things will be back to normal." That's when things seem to start to fall apart. I try to make everything as normal as possible, regardless of how crazy our life might be. I try to keep the house neat and clean, regardless of whether the man of the house might be returning tomorrow or in 19 weeks. I cook dinner every night, even though there are usually leftovers since I'm the only adult. This is by no means a post to pat myself on the back. Just a reflection on things.

But if I had to do it over again (which I WON'T- this is WAY too long for the good of our family), I would have done things very differently. I would have realized that my expectations of myself are just too high. I would have realized that everyone needs a break once in a while. I would have realized that you can't pretend that everything is "normal" for 5 months when things just aren't normal. 3 months, maybe. 5 months- impossible. I would have realized that I needed to make some lifestyle changes. But now that there are only a few (6 weeks) left, it seems a little silly to change anything, because then I'll have to change again back to "normal."

Anyway, this wasn't the post I meant to write. I was downloading pictures of the new garage (one thing I wouldn't do again- no major projects while one significant person is gone. Definitely not 2 or 3 major projects) when I started looking at all the pictures I have sent to Tyler and saw kind of a funny story. Oliver doesn't like to talk on the webcam much. I don't know if it makes him miss Tyler more or if he just thinks it is silly. Instead, he is always staging things for me to take pictures of to send to Tyler. Here are a few:

An impromptu "snowman" made of chunks of snow while we waited for Emmaline to play soccer.

A Lego dog.

Being an "Orc."

This is how an "Orc" eats. =)

When he does "talk" on the webcam, he always has to show him something.

Other things I've found- if it can break, it will. I started to make a list of broken things, but it was so long I was embarrassed. Lets just say I know a lot more about plumbing and furniture repair than I used to. If they can make a mess with it, they will. Case in point.

Yeah, don't ask. If a germ is going around- everyone will catch it. Slowly and painfully, one at a time until we are all better and someone else can get sick with something else. It's been a long winter. I think we can see the end if we can just "hold down the fort" (as Mama used to say) a little longer.