It's well past mid-night and I'm woken to the sound of boots sleepily moving across our hard wood floor. The boots soon come off as my husband tries not to wake me and our two sleeping babies in our soon-to-be outgrown house. As I pull the blanket around me, I walk into the kitchen and see him making what I'm sure is his fourth cup of coffee. I know this means he is not planning on coming to bed soon...
My husband is a full-time student.
...He had already been studying in Math Lab since our two babies went to bed at 7. But they had to lock the doors so he was forced to move his studying back at home. He never studies much at home. It's hard to concentrate when you have a two year old jumping on your back to wrestle and a baby who is a daddy's girl!
My husband is a full-time student.
...He had already been studying in Math Lab since our two babies went to bed at 7. But they had to lock the doors so he was forced to move his studying back at home. He never studies much at home. It's hard to concentrate when you have a two year old jumping on your back to wrestle and a baby who is a daddy's girl!
I give him a sleepy kiss on the cheek and ask when he is coming to bed. He yawns and shrugs an "I don't know," then is back to the books after an "I love you, goodnight" kiss.
This is our routine. Late nights and early mornings.
If you or your spouse are in school with young children at home, you know all too well what this looks like.
It looks like waking up at 5 AM to study or get some time in at the gym. It looks like meeting your kids on campus just for a quick kiss on the cheek and an "I love you." It looks like tip-toeing around the house at midnight to study for a test the next morning. It looks like skipping out on time with friends because you haven't seen your family but a few hours that week. It looks like saving change you find in your pockets or on the side of the road for a date night. (If you can find a sitter)
There are also great moments though! 5 o'clock hits and my husband walks though the door and the first thing he does is throw our two year old up in the air. The biggest smile comes to our son's face as he soaks up these precious moments with his daddy. He doesn't count the hours his dad is gone, he doesn't know he's up till morning hours. All our son knows is that his daddy comes home to play with HIM. His dad reads him stories and tucks him into bed at night. Our daughter knows her daddy's arms are the one place besides her bed that she will fall asleep.
This is our routine. Late nights and early mornings.
If you or your spouse are in school with young children at home, you know all too well what this looks like.
It looks like waking up at 5 AM to study or get some time in at the gym. It looks like meeting your kids on campus just for a quick kiss on the cheek and an "I love you." It looks like tip-toeing around the house at midnight to study for a test the next morning. It looks like skipping out on time with friends because you haven't seen your family but a few hours that week. It looks like saving change you find in your pockets or on the side of the road for a date night. (If you can find a sitter)
There are also great moments though! 5 o'clock hits and my husband walks though the door and the first thing he does is throw our two year old up in the air. The biggest smile comes to our son's face as he soaks up these precious moments with his daddy. He doesn't count the hours his dad is gone, he doesn't know he's up till morning hours. All our son knows is that his daddy comes home to play with HIM. His dad reads him stories and tucks him into bed at night. Our daughter knows her daddy's arms are the one place besides her bed that she will fall asleep.
Sometimes I forget these good moments and I struggle with this part of our life too often. We are older and out of the stage of going to school. We don't quite "fit in." We walk our kids in strollers around campus and while we get "ooh's" and "ahh's" over them I cant help but feel out of place. I find myself wanting this part of our life to speed by so we can be in the working world and own a home, and a second car.
But I am constantly reminded that "this too shall soon pass."
I know if this passes soon so will this time of our babies being babies. Already I have watched by first born turn into a big boy right before my eyes and it makes me want to go back. Our Father says, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
So I will stop wishing this part of my life away. I will stop envying the home, the second car, and the 9-5 schedule.
I will welcome the lunch-break walks to campus for a quick kiss from my busy husband. I will welcome the sound of boots on the hard wood floor at mid-night. I will welcome the sound of my babies running to see their daddy who walks in the front door after class and wrestles them to the ground. Because this life is a mist that will soon be gone and I don't want to miss the good that comes along with it.