With Tom being gone all but one morning of this week with back to back trips, a date night to a concert we had planned for a while looked like it wasn’t going to happen. When Tom bought the concert tickets, he didn’t think he’d have to travel out of town for work that week, but then that changed. We were both bummed but knew there wasn’t really any way to get around the work thing he had to do unless there was a last minute change. As luck would have it, he got done with what he needed to do earlier than expected and was able to make two flights on standby to make it home within an hour of the concert! It was such a relief, especially since we’d pretty much assumed we wouldn’t be able to go.
We’ve both been fans of Jason Isbell for a while now and seeing him live didn’t disappoint! He and his wife, as well as the band members, are so talented; and it made for a really awesome night. I think it was probably one of my favorite concerts I’ve been to. It’s so rare today to say listening to a recording of someone’s music doesn’t do it justice to seeing them perform live, but that was the case.
We got home late, and since Tom had to head out again after lunch the next day, he hung out with us for the morning until he had to pack up again. It was nice to have breakfast together, and we got in a quick trip to the grocery before he left.
Since the concert fell during the middle of the week, it was a nice break in my week of wrangling kids solo. The majority of the other days of the week were pretty normal. As usual we like to get out during the morning to break up the day a bit, even if it’s just for a quick errand. A few mornings we made it to the gym. This week I was excited to get back to swimming laps. This is one of my favorite things to do. I haven’t worked it in at all this summer, and it was so refreshing!
I had a little extra time by myself after putting the kids to bed, so I tackled finishing putting together some boxes for organizing their school work.
Most of the afternoons we spent hanging out around the house or playing outside, which doesn’t always last long right now since it’s 100 degrees. One afternoon we played and had dinner with the family of a friend that was in Thomas’s class this past year. They moved to our neighborhood just before school started last year, but I didn’t realize it until almost the end of the school year. I’m really thankful it finally worked out for us to get together. Both of our husbands were out of town, so we both could use some company by the end of the day.
The boys slept in my bed with me as a treat all but Wednesday when Tom was home. On the rare occasions that Tom is away, they think this is so fun. I’m sure I could have slept more soundly had they not slept with me, but they will only think this is fun and special for such a short time. We made it fine until Friday night. We had a late start to bedtime and they were both beyond tired from the day. After I put them down, there was crying and arguing and I had to send them back to their rooms.
Saturday morning we headed to the bookstore to play and picked up a couple of new books.
Before Tom got home, we took advantage of overcast skies and walked up to the new playground in the neighborhood. When Tom made it home in the afternoon, we enjoyed some time together playing with the kids; and that night I went to dinner with a friend. Tom was more than happy to hold down the fort for the night!
All in all, we had a pretty good week. We were definitely ready to have Tom back, though! The boys were helpful with cooking, as usual. Spaghetti was on the rotation this week since that’s one thing they all eat well and makes for good leftovers. They helped with a few chores too!
This summer I have reflected a lot on how different it’s been from last summer. Sometimes I can be too hard on myself and think I’m not doing enough or should be doing something else, etc., etc. But more often than not I’ve reflected on things that we’re doing now that I simply couldn’t do a year ago. Running a simple errand was no simple task with a newborn and two small boys, let alone keeping them all by myself for a week. Even though there were some rough spots during this past week, I’m thankful for the grace that allowed me to do all that I was able to do.
