Day 3: days off

I don't work outside the home so technically I don't get days off but my husband is a hard-working dairy farmer which means he works. A lot. On any given day he works 10-12 hours, and that's when it's not crop season... that's a whole other ball game. So when he has a day off we really try and  do stuff together as a family. I am so blessed to be able to stay home to raise our girls but at times it can get kind of lonely, instead of working 9-5 with weekends off Shawn typically works from 5:30/6:00am - 5:30/6:00pm during the week then gets a day-and-a-half off on the weekend. Oh, and did I mention we live a three second walk to the barn? I can't count how many 'days off' have turned into 'I just have to run to the barn, I'll be right back...'

When some people hear that I am the wife of a dairy farmer and that he works what seems like a gazillion hours their immediate response is always "That's really too bad he works so much, how do you handle it with your kids?" or "I don't know how you can do it, if my husband were gone so much I'd be lost".

Here's my answer: I just do it. I'm independent and self-sufficient so it's not like I'm here all damsel-in-distress-like sitting by the door waiting for Shawn to come home.  The girls and I get out, we do stuff.  I love taking the girls to story hour at our library, and to other playgroups, the playground, etc. These four walls can get pretty small, pretty fast.

There are some days I'm not sure how I get it all done, but most of the time I am so busy the days goes by fairly quick. And then it's the weekend and when I wake up I look over and see Shawn still in bed! We get up together most mornings but he's usually in a hurry to get out the door for work and I'm already making a mental to-do list so it's mostly a groggy 'good morning' and a kiss as he goes out the door.  So when he does get time off I love it!

Even though he works like a dog and can be gone long hours I wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything and that's why today I am thankful for his days off.

What are you thankful for??

Oh, and tonight we turn our clocks back so I'm extra thankful for the extra hour of sleep we get, it's like I'm going to bed at 9:00 instead of 10:00.  Boo-ya!