Dad's Home

Sam came home yesterday. Three weeks the man's been gone.

This has been the story of our marriage. He was a truck driver when we married. He moved from a dedicated trucking route to being a member of a race team that travels the country seven out of 12 months. So, our marriage works that way.

On March 16th we'd been married eight years. He's missed probably six of those anniversaries. He's usually gone a full month out of the year during the summer.

I'm not complaining. I'm actually pretty independent.

But, it's getting harder.

Halfway through this last voyage, Matthew didn't want to play soccer, an admission that's way out of the ordinary for him. Milo's random meltdowns often got him a trip straight to his bedroom. And my too frequent dismissals of Cooper's clingyness left his "Mikey" (blanket) with a few new torns as he found comfort in dragging it everywhere.

I think we all had a good wake-up call about how much we need Dad around.

Today was a much more pleasant day. I needed a reminder of how I do enjoy my little boys. And how much any little boy needs his Dad.

The little AWESOME things

The "Reader's Digest" is the perfect size to sit on the back of the toilet. Ever notice that? That's where the literature sits in my house. And while perusing it the other day while having some "me" time, I came across a little tidbit of goodness I'd like to share. It's a website called 1000awesomethings.com.

This is a partial list of the little things in life that just can make my day. So, here goes the things that make me pull my arm back at the elbow with a fist and say "YES!":

• A cool leather couch to lie on during a hot summer day
• Finding a new gas station that sells crushed ice for my Dr. Pepper
• A poopy diaper that requires little to none bum wiping
• A just warm enough car to take a nap in
• Finding an Idaho Spud at a gas station and not having to wipe the dust off
• The other side of the pillow
• A shopping cart with a seatbelt that actually works
• Finding a TV episode of my favorite show I haven't seen before
• Not having to sing the last hymn during church because the speaker went over
• A new razor
• New underwear
• Putting on underwear right out of the dryer
• Discovering random clearance items at Target
• The warm slide on the swing set - it's just right to lay on and talk on the phone
• Socks that are not inside out
• When Peeps are in the stores
• Speeding and not getting pulled over by the cop who looks right at me
• A full DVR
• Grass that can go another week without mowing
• Having just enough contact lens solution for one more day
• Finding that Cooper peed on the hardwood floor and not the carpet
• Getting suckers at the bank
• Coupons
• 15 copies of one coupon insert I get from my mom at the Daily Sentinel
• Finding a new issue of People, US, or Star Magazine in my mailbox
• Feeling the mist of a neighbor's sprinkler in the middle of a sweaty jog
• Discovering a random water fountain works while running on a St. George City trail
• Finding a sucker at the bottom of my purse when I desperately need to put it in my child's mouth at the store
• Getting a cushioned chair in Sunday School
• Being close to a heater vent on a cold day
• Sore muscles
• When the lawn mower cleanly picks up a pile of dog poop
• Clipping my toenails
• Calling someone and them actually sounding excited to talk to you
• Calling someone who owes the towing company money and them actually being pleasant about it
• Getting ahold of someone who owes me money
• A crisp dollar bill
• Any dollar bill
• Waking up to find no children got up to ask for a drink in the night
• Reading a blog and laughing out loud
• My hot pad with a long extension cord that will reach anywhere in my family room
• When Cooper says "Oh, man!" or "OK, mom," when I was really expecting a fit
• Sharing a funny story or website and having my audience be equally amused
• Making someone who intimidates me laugh or smile
• Realizing my PIN for almost everything is the last four digits of my high school best friend's phone number
• When Matt reads
• Learning a new function in QuickBooks
• Feeling OK when I look at the huge knuckle on my right ring finger that I got playing volleyball
• The clock when it reads 2 am and I thought it was closer to 5 am
• A full battery on my cell phone/IPOD/laptop
• When I tell Milo we have to drop something off to a guy and he asks, "What guy? Jason or Erik?" all the time (those are his uncles)
• A sharp knife to cut carrots
• Looking at all the hair on the floor after a haircut
• Being on track with my LOST theories
• Taking my ponytail/braid out and rubbing my scalp
• A song on the radio I haven't heard since 1996
• Turning on the dim lights after the kids have gone to bed and the house is clean
• Thinking that my driver's license photo is actually a great headshot
• Discovering I can throw away papers I'd been keeping forever