Appreciating Home

At this point, I've been away from home for a month, and really, I have loved it. This trip was about getting out of the heat to a place where Gavin could play outside and be with family that he doesn't get to see as much the other 11 months of the year. But it was also a nice break from life, too! By September of last year, we knew that getting Gavin and I out of Arizona for Summer of 2015 would be a goal for our family.

However, we have this one little factor where, since Memorial Day, we haven't seen Dylan for more than a couple of days at a time between a week or two with him gone (except for when he took a week to go to San Diego and get us to Oregon). It is beginning to weigh on us. I actually really like being around him, and Gavin adores his dad, so it's pretty sad. It would be nice to give him a chance to handle a mealtime, nap time, snack time, bedtime, bath time or dirty diaper here and there, too, because I've about reached my limit of 24/7 duty. He's a really good dad, which makes it even harder for me...the parent with less patience...when he's not here with us. Thank goodness we have him at home to stay on duty for work and make sure we can pay the bills. It's not like everyone in the family has the freedom to skip town for a month, and I am grateful he supported this adventure for us!

We're also starting to miss the comforts of home just a little bit, though we've been more than comfortable at the Millers' house. I'm not a huge chef, and though I'm certainly welcome to cook or bake here as I please, I've just lacked the motivation to cook at all, which I think will return once I get back home. We haven't eaten poorly, but it'll probably be good for us to start eating more meals that come out of the oven than out of the microwave. Also, I've loved letting go of the responsibility of my dogs...but really when compared to Gavin, they're not that big of a deal, and I miss them! I miss dumb little things about my days, like dropping Gavin at the nursery so I can fit in an actual work-out and Costco and Trader Joe's and Chipotle and In 'n Out Burger and going out for breakfast as a family at The Good Egg...or going out to eat anywhere for that matter. They have some of those things here too, but they're not close by and/or they're not convenient when I'm on my own with Gavin. I miss my family, especially my little nephews!

I'm so glad we had this opportunity and that my gracious in-laws allowed me to inhabit their guest room for an entire month. Our goal was to get outside in the fresh air, and we certainly accomplished that! Furthermore, Gavin has been able to spend time with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and has really, really taken a liking to all of them. He's even gone from pronouncing Grandpa as "Ka-ha" to "Gam-pa" and properly saying "Guinea" and "Miki," which formerly were "Ninny" and "Mick-Ney" to him. It's been a really good time for everyone, and G & G have graciously adjusted to the increase in volume and activity among their once peaceful home. Once we have a baby on the scene, I'm not sure if the logistics will work out for us to do the same kind of thing, and I'm sure next summer I'll be reminiscing a lot about our time here. I was so ready to get the heck out of Arizona for weeks before we even left, and I hardly looked back once we finally embarked on this journey. Now that it's been a while since we've been gone, I've gained a new appreciation for my life back home. It's a good life...it got a little stale after a while, which tends to happen at times throughout life, but it's a very, very good life.

Things will not be getting back to normal for us for at least a few more weeks. We have another item on the agenda that's exciting and overwhelming, but it sure will be nice to get Dylan back in Oregon in a week and see our house in Arizona a few days later. We'll be cooped up inside for the better part of two more months, but after our month on the coast, I most definitely think we can handle it.