Scattered

Abby and Ashlynn have been in Kansas with their grandparents for almost three weeks.

Tom is traveling again, and if I have his agenda right, he's in Washington DC today and tomorrow.

It feels very strange to have my family scattered all over the country.  It's just been me and the little boys all week long.

The first few days without the girls were amazingly quiet and peaceful.  The boys went to bed early and we enjoyed having time to ourselves.  Now, it just seems lonely.  We miss them on Sunday nights when we make chocolate chip cookies and watch a movie, and I miss them on homemade pizza night when I have no one clamoring to help put the cheese on the pizza.

And I miss them at night, when I pass an empty room, and my mother's instinct feels unsettled because two of my children aren't home in their beds where they belong.

Don't get me wrong, they're having a great time.  They're staying up late, eating tons of junk, and playing with the animals.  Grandma is buying them many, many things, and we've only had one or two sad calls home.

As for my husband, well, let's just say I'm doing my best to be the supportive wife.  A few years ago, I had a friend whose husband traveled every other week, and I always shook my head and wondered how she did it.  Now I can say from first hand experience, it ain't easy.  Especially on days like today when I have a nasty cold, two cranky boys, and no one to hand them off to at 6:00.

This truly has been the summer of many travels.  I'm ready for everyone I love to come home and be settled under one roof for a while.  Tom's traveling weekly until late August.  He'll be home on the weekends, but will be racking up the frequent flier miles traveling all over the country until then. 

And while I enjoy having life be somewhat calmer and slower paced for a bit, and like that macaroni and cheese becomes a gourmet dinner when there's only Max to impress, I've decided that I'd rather have the scattered pieces of my heart back home where they belong.