Half Way There

This week marks week 14. This means we are half way there!! Although I feel like we should be in at least week 25 by now I am happy to say we've made it half way and feel incredibly proud of how far we've come as a couple, as individuals and as a family. Hubby passed the mid-term Monday (1/31) and was actually not so bad according to him. He was mostly stressed about his Domestic Violence Scenario that was on Wed. Which he also passed, with flying colors.   

Going into this I  honestly thought the 28 week academy would be manageable, fairly easy actually.  It's been far from.  I feel that I have grown from it though. I consider myself to be a pretty independent woman and I have proved that to be true in the last 14 weeks.  I've mowed the lawn, taken on all the bills and banking, the cleaning, the kids, kids' school, dentist and doctor apt's, cooking dinner, preparing lunches, car/truck maintenance I even took down the Christmas tree and got it out of the house all by myself!!  I am considering taking down the outside lights but will give it one more weekend just to see if he'll get a chance to get it done... LOL   In all of this I've still managed to make it to the gym too.  These are all things the Hubby would regularly help me out with and I am sure he still could from time to time but I feel it is my responsibility as a supportive academy soon-to-be-police wife to get all these things done without complaining and  I look at it as practice for when he does start the actual job.   HOWEVER I do loose it from time to time and he's there every time to catch me and build me back up. He brings flowers every other week or so and thanks me regularly. The kids are missing him still and that's really hard for me to see. Our girl is asking every hour after 5 when Daddy will be home and running to the window at every car she hears go by or stop.  Our boy is acting up I think in part because of his age and it's normal but too he's missing Daddy. I thought by now they would be used to it, but I suppose as children it would take longer to adjust and harder to understand too. For all of their life Daddy was home at the same time every afternoon, they spent over an hour outside with him and our dog (they liked to call it "Porch Sittin with Daddy") then came in to start dinner with him.  So I suppose it's ridiculous to think after only 14 weeks they'd be completely fine and used to this big change in our household.  They are very excited for him to be a police officer though so we remind them  that this 6 months is long, but worth it in the long run. We make the very most of our time with Hubby when he is home and available to us(he's often writing papers, studying, shinning boots and brass, ironing, washing his uniforms). TV goes off right away when he gets home, we eat dinner together, then talk or play a quick board game. Not too long after it's their bed time and he'll read a story to them.   Still taking things one day at a time too. Hubby won't talk or even hear about a graduation party yet. I am just itchin to get started on that, I'm thinking, "we are half way there, when can I??!?"  For now I am going to focus my party planning energy on our son's upcoming big birthday, get the Hubby through these next 14 weeks while still juggling a job, household and kids... .No worries, I got this! That's what woman/moms do right?!?

In closing of this long post I want to say this:  I am thankful that Hubby comes home every night and sleeps with us. Very grateful it is a 6 month academy and not a 1 year deployment! I have huge respect and look up to military families and spouses, I just can't even imagine it. I THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY! Hubby and I thank you for reading and all the wonderful support we've gotten from family, friends and strangers even. We are blessed.  Here is to a New Year full of new beginnings that I am excited yet apprehensive about at the same time.