The sun is shining in the window, the kids are all cleaning their rooms and I am sitting in silence and blogging- I think that it is going to be a great day!
I can not tell you how much I love the slow Saturdays in the winter. They happen so rarely the rest of the year that I hold tight to the ones I have. My husband is a farmer. He is up at the crack of dawn and home at dusk- 10 months of the year. The kids look forward to the other 2 months with great plans. This is a way of life for them. They know that their father will not make every sporting event and 4-H activity. I worry sometimes that because my family is formed a little different (2 adoptions, 1 biological) that his working long hours can result in emotional problems for the children. Orange Shoe Guy (OSG) is probably the one I worry the most about. He is a stereo-typical middle child- a little misunderstood and awkward. He is the one that covets his father being home and struggles. Unfortunately, there is nothing that change the hours my husband works.
This is where I get creative. When the hours stretch, the kids and I load up and take dinner (or lunch) to the field. We used to cram everyone in the tractor and ride a couple of rounds. Now that the oldest two are as big as their dad, cramming isn’t possible. We simply do not fit anymore.
The big question is how to make things work when one spouse must work long hours? The answer for our family is to make days like today special. I will make a big dinner, family style. We will laugh and talk. We will place games and watch movies. We will sled and build a snowman. We will work to put a year’s worth of memories into 2 months. It doesn’t mean that he is never home for the remaining 10 months- it just means that many of our plans must be made around his schedule. That is the negative about his work. There are many positives. One of the major positives is that because his long hours, I am able to stay at home with the family. I am able to dedicate myself and my attentions to filling in the gaps. Another is that I am able to financially support my children and help them to learn the importance of hard work and perseverance.
I think the thing that makes our life work is that my husband and I are a team with one focus- our children and their well-being. So we take our days, like today and dedicate it to the children. We make the time we have good and take things as they come. I am really looking forward to the laughter that today will bring.
~Angie
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