Memories of Us: The 4th in Charleston (unexpectedly)!

Monday, July 12, 2010

The 4th in Charleston (unexpectedly)!

I feel like I should preface what I'm about to write with a few truths:

Eric has an awesome job that we are so thankful for! He has rock solid job security, great benefits, and (usually) he doesn't have to work more than 40 hours a week. Most of all, he enjoys what he does and to me, that's the most important thing. I've been stuck in more than one job in my life where I was completely bored, unchallenged, and uninspired so I've always told him that I want him to do what he loves. Plus, even though he won't admit it, what he does takes honor and courage and I admire him so much for that.

HOWEVER, sometimes his job can be a little frustrating to us and tough on our family life. For example, let me just describe what the last few weeks have been like for us:

First, Eric was asked to go on a 5 day trip to Toronto for the G8. No big deal. Ginger was coming to visit for 3 of those days, so it was nice to have some company while Eric was gone. Plus, he hadn't been on a trip in a while and 5 days is not long at all. Well, he was supposed to fly back on Monday afternoon, with enough time to spare to make it to his basketball game that night... but he ended up missing it because his flight was really late. Then the next day was Siena's birthday party. I scheduled it at 4pm in the afternoon so that Eric could just take off a little early and come to the party (normally not a problem). But guess who decided to come to town? The VP, so Eric had to work late and ended up missing his daughter's first birthday party. Not a big deal for me, other than having to recruit someone else's husband to help me with the cake and video camera, but I felt so bad for Eric. We watched the video together later that night. Then the next few days he ended up working 12 hour shifts to help out with the hunt for the cop killer on the loose in Tampa. This really freaked me out quite a bit because I'm not used to seeing him walk out of the house in a big bulletproof vest and badge hanging around his neck. Plus we all knew that guy was crazy and had no problem shooting at cops. Not exactly the person you want your husband trying to find! We were really looking forward to the upcoming 4th of July weekend when he could finally relax, and enjoy 2 cookouts with friends, one of which we were hosting.

But on Thursday he found out that he was leaving on Saturday for another 9 days! This time to Sun Valley, Idaho. Normally I don't get so upset about him leaving, but we really hadn't seen much of him since before he left for Canada. Plus it was a holiday weekend and I had to cancel our cookout and couldn't really go to the other one because it was with his work buddies. And the next week I knew that most of my friends were going out of town and it would be so quiet. SO, I decided to pack up the kids and the dog and drive to Charleston! It was my mom's birthday on the 4th and I surprised her by showing up the night before. I really enjoyed spending the holiday with my family, out on the beach at Sullivan's Island and then eating ribs in the backyard and watching fireworks. The rest of the week was really fun too... Jessica and I got the kids together every day for the beach, the pool, lunch at Chick-fil-a, and a trip to the local water park! And I got to eat dinner one night with Kristin Mixon, who I miss so much! Overall it was just a really fun week and even though it's incredibly tough to drive 9 hours by myself with 2 kids and a dog, I'm so glad I did it! Eric is due to arrive back home tonight and we can't wait to see him and get back to our (somewhat) normal life!

Happy Birthday Mimi!