Starting back

Tomorrow morning I’m starting back to work after the second part of an extended parental leave. I’m so thankful that I was able to have this time to spend with my family.

Throughout the leave my emotions ran across the spectrum really. Especially in the beginning it was all great. Jen was still off on leave for some of it as well and it was summer so the kids were out of school. We were able to explore and travel a bit, just more flexibility.

Once the kids were back in school the monotony of days and routine settled in some. Get woken up early by Ezra, try to keep him quiet but entertained so the rest of the kids can sleep a bit more before they have to get up for school. Get him and I some breakfast and dressed and hustle out the door to get the kids to school. Most days someone either goes in late or gets off early so it’s multiple trips to the schools throughout the day. Some times it felt like a lot of just hurry up and wait for the next errand that needed to be done. There were times where it just felt like I needed some kind of adventure to break things up, but there wasn’t much adventure to be had.

There were all kinds of great things though. Really getting to bond with Ezra and see him grow and learn what seems like new things every day.

I was able to get back into a good exercise routine. I’m much fitter again and exercising regularly. I’ve dropped about 30lbs. Was able to include both Ezra and Noah some too. Ezra has come on bike rides and runs with me. We would work in trips to playgrounds as part of it. Noah started running with me as well. He is much better then me and enjoys it. So much that he joined the cross country team with his school.

Ella and I ended up spending a lot of time together driving to and from school and to and from dance. I love our drives together. She’s so funny and such a loving person. The way she is with Ezra is something incredibly special s well.

Caile is so very self sufficient. She graduated and is taking this year off. She’s still running her baking business and taking some online courses to prepare her for what she wants next. So driven. She also just contributes so much to our home. Trying to take on things to make it easier for others, sometimes to a fault. I love when she needs my help in understanding or figuring out parts of what she’s learning.

Looking back tonight I love that our family loves to spend time together. Even if it is just sitting around in the evening to watch TV together. Despite my desire for adventure it doesn’t matter what we do, being together is what really matters.