Shewt

Ah the craziness of life. How fast it can sneak up on you and BAM! You feel like you've been run over all over again. The past 4 weeks have pretty much been a blur. We came home and basically picked up right where we left off. Nothing like hitting the ground running while trying to find your bearings all over again.

Mark has started a new job, like I previously mentioned in my last post. He's done a job very similar to this before when we first moved to Kadena. His hours then were very crazy. He'd leave the house about 6:30am and come home anytime between 7:30 and 10:30pm. It was a really hard adjustment to make, coming from his uber cushy job at Randolph where he'd go in at 8 and be home by 4. Add in a foreign country, a wife that worked 40+ hours herself, a tempermental 2 year old...and well...you get the picture. Our first 18 months in Japan sucked. Sure, the country and the folks were cool, but on the job and home front...it was really hard. Fast forward 6 years. He has the opportunity to do the same kind of job for the next year. I take a look at the bigger picture and I think that I'm pretty lucky considering the other option was for him to be the aide (the guy that travels with the general whenever the general travels). At least I can be selfish enough to have him at home with me. I think that I may have over prepared myself for this. I told myself that the hours would be horrendous and that I would need to really keep myself occupied in order not to dwell on everything. Here's the funny thing: I think I may have done too well in that department. I don't worry about what time he comes home and in fact, half the time, dinner hasn't even been started when he tells me he's on his way. I thought for sure that the kids would be in bed and I'd have time to do homework, work on the piano, etc...but alas, he's actually been home in time to put the kids to bed. I'm definitely not complaining. I'm very grateful.

One thing that has been missing lately is my verbal filter. Apparently, it went by the wayside and hasn't been found yet. I keep finding myself in hot water with people for saying things that I normally wouldn't. Don't get me wrong...I think these things, but usually, I just keep the thoughts to myself. Unfortunately, the part of my brain that tells me to shut up is still on vacation. I've found myself writing and saying things that either get totally misinterpreted and blown out of context or I say something that is true, yet offends. If anyone finds my filter, can you please send it back? I'll happily pay for overnight shipping.

Running. Ah yes, the running. Mark is on his last training run tomorrow. It's not fun training for two events in our household. Because the kids are so little, we can't run together. Gav is WAAAY too old for the jogging stroller (which we don't even own anymore), so we have to swap days. There hasn't been a morning for the past month that has gone by when one of us isn't up at 5:30am heading out the door. Mark gets Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for long runs. I get Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays for my long runs. Since I have the gym membership, I'm more flexible. I hate running on the treadmill, but sometimes (usually either Wednesdays or Thursdays) it has to be done. Sleeping in hasn't been a luxury for us in over 8 years, so luckily, it's something we don't really miss. I was able to switch my race registration from the full marathon to the half marathon. I emailed the race organizers and they were awesome enough to swap me officially. I haven't given up on the idea of a full marathon yet. Something inside is still gnawing at me to do one just for me. I'm not in any hurry though. The 8+ last week was a good butt kicker. We'll see how it goes this week.

So there are the random musings this week. Aside from Gavin throwing up at school on Thursday (yes...it was in his class, in front of everyone, all over his desk and himself), it's been a fairly quiet week. I'm looking forward to Labor Day weekend...no plans and just being able to catch a breath.