On the Road Again

"On the road again.  Just can't wait to get on the road again." -Willie Nelson

 

My husband may somewhat agree with the lyrics to this famous song.  He likes being on the road working and taking on the challenges of new work projects and seeing new scenery, but I was not agreeing with Willie on Tuesday morning.  My husband was leaving to Texas.  Do you know how far away it is?  Really far!  To be exact, it is just over 1,000 miles depending on which route you take to the little Texas town of Panhandle.

 

Since the last time we were in Texas, which was almost 4 years ago, we have been very blessed by having Craig on projects close to home.  So far, since buying our home, the furthest he has been away is 8 hours.  But this time, it is completely across the country and it will take me more than a days drive to go and see him if I choose to.  Or if there is some sort of emergency, he can't just drop everything at the drop of a hat and be here in a short amount of time.  Even if he were to fly, the closest airport with a direct flight to the cities is a 4 hour drive, plus a 2 hour flight, plus a 2 hour drive home from the airport in the cities.  So it would take a minimum of 8+ hours if everything went smoothly and a flight was leaving the exact moment he arrived at the airport.  Slight panic mode!  Ahhh!

 

This project has been a long time coming and we have a lot of emotions invested in it already.  Shortly after finding out we were expecting a baby, Craig received his project assignment to go to Texas.  Now I can't remember exactly when he received it because my pregnancy was awful, always feeling sick, super tired...you know, all that fun stuff, but we were told he would be heading down May 6th.  Now to the average person, this would be ok, but hello!  I was pregnant!  My husband was leaving, I was sick, would he make it back for labor/delivery, etc.  And of course emotions were every which way on the chart.  So there were a lot of tears and sleepless nights.  But, I prayed, because what else is there to do and who else to trust than God.  He has it all planned out, right?  Right!  Well, as that start date inched closer, it changed.  He was then going to leave the first week of June.  Perfect!  Well, kind of.

 

If it was the first week of June, Hunter would be out of school for the year and we could just move down with the boys bringing air mattresses, clothing, a few toys (boys need their toys), the pack and play and just kind of rough it.  That would give us the summer together, he could be at the hospital when our little girl arrived, we would have another month together after she was born and we would head back to MN once school began.  Yes, I realize this was a little crazy and not sure if I would have gone through with it, but in my mind I was thinking we would have two little Texans.  But then, plans changed.  Good grief, quit playing with my emotions and plans!  I'm a planner!!!

 

So, the start day moved to just after the 4th of July.  Ummmm...I'm pretty sure his boss forgot I was due July 23rd!  So what, go to Texas for a couple weeks only to come home for me to have a baby (if we were lucky) and Craig was planning on staying home for 2 weeks once Finley was born.  I made Craig remind his boss (who has no wife or kids as of yet) of our situation.  Not that it really mattered.  He kind of laughed it off when Craig would remind him.  Craig told me that he told him that if the project was pushed back that late then he wasn't going to Texas until our daughter was born.  I reminded Craig that it wasn't up to him to call the shots, but he assured me it would be ok.  So, I continued to pray that God would work everything out time wise and that Craig would get his way. 

 

Well, the 4th came and went and the project wasn't going to begin until August 1st.  Woohoo!  We kept buying ourselves sweet, sweet time.  But his boss told him we needed to have the baby July 17th so Craig could take his two weeks off and return to work the 1st of August.  Hey buddy, you can't just plan like that unless you're having a C-section.  But guess what, he got his way!  On July 17th, we welcomed our beautiful little girl, Finley Kaisa, into the world.  I was a little upset that he got his way, but was so happy to be done with  my pregnancy and have my daughter in my arms. 

 

Let me tell you, two weeks flies by.  It is gone in the blink of an eye.  A few days before the 1st, Craig called his boss to nail down his return date.  I overheard the conversation and Craig told his boss I was having a hard time about him going back to work (I was actually ok with it and ready to take on the challenge) so was wondering if he could just stay home over the rest of the week (the 1st was a Wednesday) and start the next Monday, the 5th.  His boss was ok with that since during Craig's time away from the office, the project had been pushed back once again (the owner was having troubles getting all the financing in order).  Woohoo!  We bought ourselves more time together.

 

Well, the 4th came and he went back to the cities not knowing when he would head to Texas.  It could be in the next couple of days or it could be the following week.  Still so many unknowns.  Seriously, some days his job is worse than the military in that sense.  Waiting, waiting and then boom!  You have to move in a day or two.  Anyways, he went back to the office and still waited.  In the meantime, they gave him a raise and a promotion and a company vehicle, so we can't complain too much, but still didn't know.  Finally it was decided he would leave MN on September 3rd and begin work on the 5th.

 

Leading up until the day, I was struggling.  I knew it was real this time.  We had been blessed with many extra days together.  Everything worked out perfectly and we knew that he would eventually head to Texas.  But really, the first day of school AND my post-baby Dr. appointment day?  I guess it could have been worse, but I knew emotions would be high that day!  The weekend before was really busy, but really fun.  We spent time with friends and enjoying our family.

 

The 3rd came.  We got our 1st grader ready for school and sent him off on the bus.  He wasn't eager to go, but thankfully had a great first day!  Then after sending him off, it was time to say good-bye.  Ugh.  I will be honest and say I was very emotional, begged him to stay (which I always do), but in the end, let him go.  But not without a picture in is fancy cowboy hat and new truck.  After all, he was going to Texas!  Yee-haw!  He got into his truck after one last hug and kiss and I told him how proud I was of him.  I said good-bye and went inside with two kids waiting for me.  I quickly put on the game face shortly after we waved good-bye.  Honestly, it's not going to do me or my family much good to sit here and dwell on the fact that Craig is not at home with us.  Instead, we need to be thankful that he has a job.  A job that pays well, has great perks and benefits and most importantly, allows me to stay home with the kids.

 

Life on the road is not easy on any of us.  The boys struggle-especially Hunter.  He knows how life used to be having Craig around all the time.  But, Craig has prepped him and Hunter goes into a mode where he acts as if he is the man of the house.  He helps, he takes care of either Brody or Finley if I'm tending the other.  He has had to make supper, especially when I was super sick with the pregnancy.  The kid can make a mean Eggo waffle. ;)  And even with all that, he remains super sweet and loving and is so thankful for everything he has. Brody doesn't like it, but tolerates it because this is what we have done his entire life.  He doesn't know it any other way.  There have been times where he has punished Craig for being gone and won't give him the time of day, but right now that little boy loves his daddy more than you will ever know!  He is all over him when Craig's around and is constantly giving hugs, love and "too many kisses" (his version of a kiss attack).  Finley, well she doesn't notice yet.  We now have iPhones so our hopes are to FaceTime and for her to see Daddy while he is on the road so she doesn't forget him or his voice.  It will kill me and I'm sure Craig, if he comes home for a rotation and she doesn't want him or his scared of him.  And me, well I don't like it, but I tolerate it.  I put on this tough girl act but inside my heart aches and I miss him more than words could ever describe.  He knows it too, but I need to stay strong and to the outside world, I am, but to him, I'm real.  But in the end, I'm proud of him and thankful to have a husband who is willing to sacrifice time away from the family in order to provide.  Thankful for being able to stay home with our three kids and not miss out on their lives because trust me, they grow fast.  In the end, I think Craig has the short end of the stick.  He's not the one having fun with the kids.  Instead he is working long hours.  He's missing out on the little things that add up to the big things.  But for now, this is what we're doing and it works.  It's not easy, but it works.  And that's ok for now.  Ideally, we would love to be together, but for now we will make it work the best we can and enjoy every ounce of our time together. 

 

So in the end, we are living life apart again.  He is "on the road again".  His trip down went great, he's excited to be there and we are excited to see the project through pictures and hear about all of his adventures.  And the plus side, he will fly home next week. :)  I'm starting up this blog again to try my best to put the "little moments" on here in case I forget to tell him during our conversations in the evening.  So get ready for more updates on three adorable kiddos as we experience life on the road again.

 

Here are a couple pictures of Craig before hitting the road:

 

 Don't Mess with Texas.

Away he goes!