Enjoying R&R!

Joe made it home last Thursday!! It has been wonderful, to say the least, to have him home. After being on our own for nine months, it has been so nice to have another pair of hands to help out around the house. He's taken on a few small projects, like fixing a couple of screens on the back porch, adjusting the feet on the washing machine so it doesn't "walk" out of the laundry room when it's on spin cycle, and doing a few maintenance items on my car. To my surprise, we discovered that the registration on the vehicles expired at the end of February. Oops! I never received the renewal notices, and it never occurred to me that I should check to see when they expire. Silly me!

His being home has been restful and relaxing for all of us. It's funny how things quickly fell back into feeling normal, especially when I thought I was getting used to being alone. Even the dogs surprised us, welcoming Joe at the door with happy barks and wagging tails. We were a little concerned that they would not recognize him and attempt to protect their territory, but they acted like he'd never been gone.

Joe's working through the kids' list of activities they had for him, including going to the movies and playing laser tag. From the parenting perspective, it's nice to have someone else that's "got my back," so to say. I don't have to be the lone bad guy, when it comes to reminding them about their chores, homework, etc.

We've got another week and a half of Joe being home, and we plan to make the most of every minute! I'll try to post a few pics later on....