It's been a little over two months since I have updated. This is partly because the holidays were busy, and time got away from me, and blah blah blah. Mostly though, I have just been avoiding this online public journal I once committed to producing.
These days I rely on keeping my head down, willing the time away, and trying not to think too hard about life's current circumstances. I have realized that taking the time to actually reflect on what's happening and expressing how I feel about what's happening interferes with the whole "not thinking too hard" thing. I just get so content with my day-to-day hustle and bustle and the blissful ignorance it allows me to carry, that it becomes very convenient to just...not write. In fact, writing feels somewhat taxing. I even had to take a few breaks during the construction of this post (over the course of a week... whoops), because sitting down and organizing my thoughts about how things are going is pretty overwhelming.
But, here I am, because I think I owe myself to carry on with this blogging project. I'm already a little bummed that I let two months of time go undocumented, and I don't want to quit here.
The holidays were fine, considering how unusual 2014 was. My husband is in the planet's ass crack while the family of four I grew up in took a stab at our first holiday season after establishing that an era has indeed come to an end. I have to hand it to my parents, despite the uncomfortable awkwardness that comes with being in the midst of a divorce, they really held it together for everyone and made the time we spent together enjoyable. My mom attended the Thanksgiving day my dad hosted, and she also made an appearance on Christmas morning before jetting off to Atlanta to be with her parents and sister's family. I got to spend time with some other local family members as well over the holidays, so things were just fine.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had a few packages under the tree from the man abroad himself, and even happier to discover that my Christmas package arrived to him on time. Being able to FaceTime with Eric during his Christmas morning and watching him open packages from myself, his parents, and my family was enough to melt my Grinch heart into a puddle.
This was my second year spending holiday time with my McOmie family, which has become such an important tradition for me already. We had our own round of Christmas celebration on New Years Day which was spent watching the Rose Bowl, eating McOmie comfort food, and exchanging gifts. It was really fulfilling spending my first year as a McOmie with my in-laws. I really love having a whole new family on top of my already awesome one I was born into. I really do feel very lucky to have all of these wonderful relatives in my life.
So, now we're in the long-awaited year of 2015! This is where the "keeping my head down and willing time away" thing comes in handy. Although we're in the year I've been praying to arrive, there's still a fair amount of waiting to be done and i'm feeling really impatient.
We recently got word of when Eric can expect to be sent home. Although I can't write it here, the countdown is down to less than 4 months. That number feels very manageable, and I love having a date to actually count down to. The light at the end of the tunnel is just now starting to become visible. We still get to text message quite a bit, and we usually talk about what life is going to be like when he gets back-- where we may live, what kind of job he may get, what kind of house we want, what kind of dog we want to add to our family, how fun the wedding and honeymoon is going to be, etc. There really is so much to look forward to.
Speaking of, I've still been a wedding planning machine! Between work, regularly attending barre3 classes, and spending time with my loved ones, planning the wedding is still one of my very favorite hobbies. It's been an unofficial goal to have everything done by the time Eric is home, and I'm very much on-track to have that happen. Hopefully, that way we can spend our long-overdue time together concentrating on things other than wedding chaos.
As I reflect over the past few months, I do feel very thankful for those who have been there for both Eric and I. It's been a strange time for me, and I do recognize that I haven't been there for all the people I love in my life the way I'm normally able to. I do feel guilty for that. However, I think times like these reveal the people that are truly dependable in hard times, and I am seeing that Eric and I have many people to be thankful for. Thank you, wonderful people. One day I'll find a way to individually show my appreciation for each of you, but for now, just know we're so thankful.
Happy 2015 everyone, I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the new year!
