Practice Run

Joel just got back from a 10-day trip out east to see his dad and one of his brothers. It was more-or-less his last hurrah before his deployment. I decided to stay home with the girls - I wasn't quite ready to road trip with our baby. Nothing about 14 hours on the road with a 6-week old sounded like fun to me.

So, I just thought that 10 days would be a good practice run for me. I could see how I'd do with the two girls by myself.

Well, I survived. We had plenty of play dates with friends so that I wasn't sitting at home starring at the walls. We took lots of walks and a few too many trips to the mall. I even managed to take both girls with me to a doctor's appointment - miracle of miracles.

I learned two important things during this 10 day practice: I can do it but I need to ask for help. I think I tried to do too much by myself during Joel's last two deployments. There's something in me that thinks it's easier to just do it myself. But when you're talking about many, many months of doing it by yourself - it's not always easier. I ended the last two deployments completely drained. So, Joel would come home from overseas exhausted and I would be home waiting for him, exhausted.

I don't want this deployment to end the same way. Two girls by myself requires a whole lot more effort - way more energy than I can sustain on my own. So, when people offer to take the girls for a few hours, to help me with projects around the house or to make a meal - I'm going to take them up on it.

Hold me to it.