Perspective

This past week has been the longest week I have had in a LONG time! Devin left for Texas last Sunday morning, and gosh, it feels like it's been so much longer than a week, dang it!

 He has settled in nicely, and has the most boring routine. Poor guy sleeps, works, eats, studies and showers at the hospital day in and day out. Talk about groundhog day times 1000!! 

 My brother JOSH is deployed in the UAE right now (for the 7th time) and recently posted about how he feels like he's living his own groundhog day over there in the middle east desert. And I must admit...I feel like my mommy-groundhog day has amplified 100 fold since Devin left a week ago. Maybe that's why this past week has felt SO LONG! I can't say enough how proud I am of Devin's ambition, motivation and mindset to get in, and get the job done. He has such a good attitude and perspective, which helps me a ton to try to reflect that right back at him when we talk each day. 

 At the end of this month, Devin and I will have spent 5 whole months away from each other in the year 2012. This time last year, I knew that 2012 was going to be the most challenging year of my life, to date. Devin and I would be separated for long periods of time, I was pregnant for almost half the year, then adjusted to having a newborn and a toddler, moved out of our place and temporarily into my mother and father in law's very accommodating basement and am wrapping up this long year with one more month of spousal separation during the holidays. Listing that was not done to complain, but to remind myself that I can do difficult things, and pass through trying circumstances, and come out the other side better for it. Time is a funny thing, and enduring through a seemingly long phase of time, proves to be a short one in retrospect. While our circumstances this past year have not been ideal, I am happy that there was joy in our journey. It's all about perspective. I'm sure one day we will ask each other, "How did we do that?", and will remember just how blessed we were and how much Heavenly Father truly helped each of us in our separate groundhog days. 

 The night before Devin left last weekend...some cheesy self portraits from his phone. 

 I miss this guy!