Thursday, March 12, 2009

A Bicycle Built for One

Today, at Nolan's school he had a great big surprise for me. The teachers were all excited for him to show me his newest accomplishment. We all went out on the side of the school where there is a big grassy, flat field. Nolan and his buddy Josh, brought out this bike(minus training wheels!),I stared curiously, and Nolan got on the bike, with his friend holding the back, to give him a push, and off he went,riding this two wheeled bike all over the field!Bob and I had been trying to teach Nolan at home, but with no success. And here in just one afternoon, his friend Josh had not only taught him, but was being patient and excited to watch his friend show off and succeed.
I started crying,for two reasons. One, because he and his buddy looked so darned cute, and two because,I know what he doesn't, that this is just one more step closer to his total independence.
Nolan came over to me, and our conversation went something like this:
" Mommy do you want to help me this time?
" Yes, Nolan I would love too. Tell me what to do."
"okay, first you are gonna hold on to the back of the bike,while I get my feet right, then you are gonna push me forward, and follow behind a little bit, then you are gonna let go, and I am gonna take off all by myself!"
"Nolan, what if I am not ready to let go,"
"Mommy, you have to, because I will be ready."
"Nolan, what if I can't let go.?"
"Mommy, you will be, I will tell you when it's time."
"Nolan, I am not ready, give me more time."
"Mommy, now is the time."
"Okay, Nolan, your right, its time, mommy will hold on for as long as I need to, then when you tell me I will let go."
"Mommy, what if I fall, where will you be?"
"I will be right next to you, I will pick you up, dust you off and help you to get back on to try again."
"Okay, mommy, here we go, this is gonna be wicked fun!". and with that my little boy,changed into my little man right in front of my eyes.
I held on to that bike for as long as I could, I gave him the push forward he needed,I ran with him for awhile and then, when I knew he wanted me to, I let go-
I stood back and watched in amazement as he zipped through the field, turned into a circle, and then I wept tears of joy, sorrow,and pride.
I know that there is a time for everything, and I know that now is the time for me to push him to go further than he thought he could,to stand behind him while he grows up,to let go of him when he is ready,to watch him from the sidelines cheering his success,and to be close by him so if he falls, I can be there to pick him up, brush him off,and help him to get back on.
Nolan, can not wait until tomorrow to show his father what he can do. He can not wait to show the rest of his buddies.For now,he told me, he only wants to ride in the small,grassy,field at his school.He says, he is not ready for the big,cement street just yet. I think he knows there will be bigger bumps and bruises on that road.I told Nolan that was fine.We could both use more practice on the little, grassy, field for awhile.I told Nolan that there is no hurry, but that when he was ready,we will go down that road together!

Monday, March 9, 2009

vacation

and we are back to normal. Well normal for us anyway, Bob left this morning to pick up the plane, and is back to flying by Wednesday.I have loved having him home. We watched movies every night, and it was nice having an extra driver for all of these sports we seem to be committed too.
We are busy getting ready for our annual beach trip to St. George Island!We did not know the trip was on until the last minute, which was nice because now it is only 8 weeks away so the wait time was so much better this year!
I am extremely excited this year because it also happens to be the day of my triathlon so what a great way to celebrate my race, going to the beach for a whole week with Family.
It is also going to be a smaller crew this year, because not every one can make it, with work and kids in school, another bonus for home schooling, we will take our school there, and most days will be field trips!
Oh, and did I mention I am going to the Bahamas with Bob at the end of the month? Well, unless something changes, which is very likely, I will get to go with him for four days. I am trying not to get too excited until I have the ticket in hand. It will be nice living his life for a change.Although, I am already not sure about leaving my kiddies.
I love this spring forward, I love knowing we are closer to SUMMER! warm weather, beach, longer days, cookouts,no school, sleeping in, swimming, it can't get here fast enough!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Maintenance Week

I love maintenance week! Its like our family vacation. If you don't know, maintenance week is when Bob's plane goes down for a routine squawk's checkup, and it takes a whole week! Which means... Bob is home and there is NO chance for him to get called out to go anywhere.
This is a pilots' wife's dream( I am so nervous now if I am using my apostrophe's correct!), anyway, because you know that your husband won't be able to cancel any plans at the last minute, because he has no plane to fly! For those non-pilot wives' your probably thinking, wow, this is what gets you excited, and I would say YES,YES,YES. Where other wives' may take advantage of having a hubby home every night,weekend, vacation, anniversary, etc., we pilot wives' must celebrate the times they are home. We don't have the luxury of knowing they will never miss these events, we only get lucky, when they don't! It's a bizarre life style, if you don't live it day to day.
Although, there is so many negative reasons given out there about being married to a pilot, or so many horror stories about their professions, I think its good to have stories that show the other sides. The ones with successful marriages, strong wives's, and honorable husbands.
I love that when my husband is home, I get so excited to spend time with him even after 19 years, I love that I have to appreciate our time together rather than waste it, I love that I still get excited for maintenance week, because it mean a whole week of uninterrupted time.
In our marriage we have the same struggles as anyone else,but I know that spending time together is not one of them, we enjoy being together, because other than maintenance week, our time is limited,and short, so we need to make it worth while, focusing on the bigger picture and letting the small stuff go. I am not saying pilot's marriage's are any better than any other ones', but instead of believing all the negative garb about pilot's marriages', I know a few of marriages' that could learn from our(all pilot's) marriage lifestyle.
Bob and I have to respect each other, trust each other, and enjoy each other. We have to appreciate our time together,and learn to appreciate our time apart. We have to be an encourager to one another,and experience our lives together while we are separate.
I, for one am tired of people either feeling sorry for me, or assuming my husband is a philanderer and a drunk. I hate the stares they give me when I tell them what my husband does for a living,I hate the dumb questions that come right after, but most of all I hate their ignorance about what my marriage is. I have a lot I could teach women, about themselves,and their marriage. SO I think as Pilot's wives' we must concentrate on the positives, support each other through the negatives, and stand by our man. I personally think, we have all discovered the best kept secret about a great marriage,quality time together, and quality time apart, its the best of both world's.I am not making light of serious issues that occur in any marriage,I know those things happen and its really sad. I just think there the good outways the bad,in our lifestlye. Many women ask."how do you handle him gone so much?" I would like to ask>"How do You handle him home so much?",
You live the marriage that you have, you make it the best one, you accept your choices, and live your life the best way you can. I love being a pilot's wife, I would never have it any other way,and if my daughter came home and decided to marry a pilot one day, I would tell her she is in for the most exciting, hard, complicated, exhuasting life stlye, but every bit worth the effort.Marriage is not about who is home every night with their spouse,or at every occasion, its about celebrating the small stuff, because all the small stuff makes up all the really big stuff!
And this was so not where I was going with this post:)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Sunday, March 1, 2009

YouTriChick

I love going away with my tri-chick girls for the weekend! I always come back rested, renewed and rejuvenated. Every time we go we learn more about each other and we learn more about ourselves by the conversations that take place. We spend time running, eating, laughing, and lots and lots of talking. We get "real".
My tri-girls have really changed my life. We started out by participating in a bible study, and then training together for a triathlon , and now we share our lives.
On the last day, I felt ready to come home, I felt like I didn't want it to end and yet I am already anticipating the next time!
When I got home and walked through the door I was greeted with a very excited welcome! Regan and Nolan were jumping up and down, screaming my name, both wanting kisses and hugs. The dogs were even running back and forth! (this must be how Bob feels when he comes home from a trip), it is a great feeling! Bob had cleaned the whole house, and Uhmm... wanted to get the kids to bed early:)
As a pilots' wife, I tend to forget the importance of going away with friends, or myself alone. I am so busy running a house, homeschooling, and taking care of everyone except myself.
I think is is also a good reminder to everyone in the house how important my job is at home, not just for my family to appreciate what it is I do, but most importantly for me to appreciate what I do. I can get so caught up in being a stay at home mom, that I forget to pat myself on the back once in awhile, and say good job. I don't think this is isolated to just stay at home moms, I think working mother's probably feel the same way. As women we get caught up in the multi-tasking of life, and forget how essential we are to our families, and let's face it, they forget too. So every once in awhile we need to remind not just them, but ourselves.
When I walked into my house Sunday night, I knew by my families faces that they were thrilled not only to have me home, but exhausted by getting a taste of what I do for them. For the record, I absolutely love being a home school, stay at home, pilots' wife, just once it awhile I like to make sure they now how good they got it!

.