There are the other times when I miss out on the family time and togetherness... it's especially hard around the holidays when I know that my niece will be opening her presents in front of Grammy and Grampy and my kids won't... It was so bad last Christmas that I broke down and cried in the bathtub...
My mom was able to meet and hold Ella within hours of her birth, and will be able to when her little brother or sister is born this spring, while Erik won't meet them until he's more than six months old...
I missed my sister's wedding three weeks ago... bad timing on my part, but I had Erik the day before...
Well, this doesn't sound so much like a post about what brings me comfort and joy... but I've been setting you up for it...
The biggest thing that brings me comfort and joy is my wonderful husband, Wayne. We're in South Carolina so that he can be where he needs to be for his career - something that I understood long before we moved - that we would be moving away from friends and family because he's a professor in a very specialized field and we'd be going where the jobs are... and for him as a tourism prof - Charleston is one of the best cities in the world for what he does... and the College of Charleston is the place he needs to do it.
How does he bring me comfort and joy? He's made sacrifices so that we can spend weeks at a time home in Canada - anywhere from 4-6 weeks every summer since we've been here. He puts his family before his work - no matter how much work he has. He braved the operating room when I went in for my C section - despite being adverse to all things blood related. He holds me when I need to cry and passes me the Kleenex and just understands how hard it is to be away from my other loved ones - he lets me grieve when i need to... and he was even willing to put me on a plane home with the baby for Christmas this year... but how can I leave him, Robyn and Liam for Erik's first Christmas?
Life is a balancing act, I've known it for years - sometimes you act more balanced than you feel, sometimes you are more balanced than you act... but I know that what keeps me balanced and brings comfort and joy to my life is my life partner and wonderful husband, Wayne. He just knows... and I appreciate that immensely!
I also appreciate the opportunity to share this post with you and to share a link to the Kleenex Softness Worth Sharing website where you can go to send a box of Kleenex to someone special.
Disclaimer: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Kleenex blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
