Today's that day.
After our exhausting weekend of traveling, we are still not back on a sleep schedule. We're all exhausted, malnourished (there's no food in this house...), and Z is coming down with a nasty cold (airport germs WOOF).
But yesterday, despite his exhaustion, Z began to play with Bubba the minute he got home from work. I honestly don't even know if he changed, but he hopped on the ground and began "brmmming" while pushing cars around.
In this moment, it hit me how lucky I am to have such an amazing husband and wonderful father for Bubba. He is always going above and beyond his "dad" duties and helping me out. He takes Bubs outside while I cook dinner, he does the dishes after dinner, he helps with Bubba's baths, and folds and puts away laundry. I know a lot of guys don't help with any of this and sometimes I take it for granted.
When Z was deployed, Bubba wasn't around yet and I was constantly struggling to face each day with the utmost positivity. There would be days to weeks that I didn't hear from him, wondering if he was safe and alive. Now that he's home, I take simple things for granted, like a phone call or falling asleep next to him. Him annoying me with tickles or wanting to snuggle when I'm having a "fat" day. Or having him here to make me laugh in person vs. through a computer screen.
I don't know why all of this hit me so hard yesterday, but I realized that I need to stop taking it all for granted and remember what my life felt like without him. I pray that another deployment never becomes a reality for us, but I need to start enjoying the time I have him here and the time the boys have together in case that time ever comes.
I think sometimes we're all guilty of wishing for less chores or more money or something else that doesn't really matter. We need to soak up the moments, look around us, and take advantage of the most precious gift of all. Time.