tomorrow - tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow!

In the morning we get on a plane to go back to a place we lived by and loved...

Yeah!  We are returning to Florida!  To temperatures that will be around 88 and 90 degrees the entire week! We will stay by our old neighborhood and enjoy the ease of Hampton Inn the first two nights and then switch over to a Vacation Villa (just like the dozens and dozens of homes that existed in our old neighborhood!) and frolic in the pool out back, play inside on the foosball and pool table, and - as Bryson Jr. excitedly stated 'watch cable TV!'.  That makes it sound like the cable TV that you don't anyone to see!  However, as we don't have a TV that is hooked up to get regular TV stations, my children think that a TV that can bring in any station their little hearts desire is one of the best parts of the vacation!

Then again, when they have the option of watching TV or going to the Magic Kingdom or Sea World...let's hope they pick the last two choices.  If not....I have failed as a parent!!!!  

We plan to drive down to Tampa on Saturday and enjoy a day of this.... {I know it won't look exactly like this, but it will be warm, it will be sunny and it WILL be wonderful!}

And the best news of all - Bryson {Sr.} is actually coming!  One would think that would be easy to assume that the dad comes along on a family vacation - and I thought so too...once upon a time.  However, stories through MBA school of veteran moms of I-Bankers whose husbands never came on the trip, or left early has stayed crystal clear in my mind :)  And so, it wasn't a huge surprise a few weeks ago, that Bryson booked a ticket to come home a few days early from the trip.  He said he couldn't stay away that long, without feeling really guilty that he was missing too much time from the office.  I put on a grin - called my mom and asked her to meet me and the kids in Florida...after all, the show must go on!

Then last week, while I was at the school working on some projects - he texted me with what might have been his famous last words (only kidding!).... 'Stand by.  Looks like the project will kick off, and I might need to stay here'.

Hmmmm.  It's one thing to hear about vacations being canceled for dads in other families - when it's your own family it is the reality you hoped to escape.  Bryson talked to his boss, and the advice he got was 'it's up to you, I never advice anyone to not take a family vacation.  However, this will be a big project and you'll need to be accessible if you go on your trip'.

We talked about the options over the weekend.  And Bryson decided to come along with us.  If he stayed here he knew he would regret not being with us, and that the work might not be as demanding while we are gone (that's laughable, because when is it not demanding....but we were trying to come up with some great reasons of why he should still come!).  Bryson went and told his boss today that he plans to come on the trip, to which the boss stated he thought that was a great choice....but then they talked over some details which left Bryson worried.

I tell you this work is about as crazy as it gets.  Or maybe it's just making us crazy!

So, in the end - Bryson will be with us.  Sort of.  I know that he will physically be flying down with us on Tuesday and that we will see him at some part during the week --- however, already our first day of fun it will be me and the 3 kiddos running down Main Street and through the Castle into Adventure Land....because Dad has a 10am conference call!  However, Prince Charming states he will show up by that afternoon - definitely, for sure!

Well - at least this crazy work pays for us to have fun.  And that hopefully Bryson will get some of the fun and rest he needs too.  After all, all work and no play --- is definitely not the type of life we want!

So long for now --- for the next 9 days I'll be in la-la land where responsibilities are lessened, and the skin will be turning a nice brown color reminding me that it has been way too long cooped up inside during the longest winter of my life(!) and we will have lots and lots of family time and fun together....at least I hope so!  

12:30am advice

The phone rang minutes after I had laid down in bed last night (Monday, 3/21) at 12:30am.  I had finally decided to go to bed as waiting up for Bryson during his work week is rather pointless - actually it's pointless most nights but I usually push myself and will stay up until 12:30-  1:30am to see him...but after a few nights my body can't do it anymore...I have to sleep even if he doesn't get to.  If we are lucky he gets home a little bit before midnight at least one week each month.  This month is not that scenario.  For the past 2-3 weeks it's been between 2 - 4am when he finally gets home.  He is exhausted to say the least.  I'm tired as well.  We are tired and trying to figure out what to make of the continual stress and schedule of this job.


With these thoughts running through my head, I picked up the phone call as Bryson told me he was finishing up.  I have had these phone calls before - so I asked if he was actually waiting for the car or finishing up at his desk....the difference being about 2 hours on average between "almost being done" and really being done!  He was actually in the car on the way home.  WOW!  And that's when a blog post immediately popped into my head.  I would have gotten up to write it when I had the thought - however, once my body gets back up it won't go back down for the longest time!....thankfully the thoughts were actually still around a few hours later :)
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My advice to anyone whose husband might consider going into Investment Banking....

First, look at how much time you spend with your husband and as a family.  Now divide that in half.

And divide that in half again.

And half again.

And for good measure, and just to be on the safe side...divide that in half again.

Now that you have that number in mind, know that there are many times where you will need to divide that low number in half again.  To the point that you are whittled down to a decimal so close to zero, that you really might as well call it zero.

And that is how often you will see your husband during 'busy' project times and even 'regular' work weeks.

If you can look at that number and say that in all honesty you will be alright to see your husband for that small microscopic amount....than sign up!  If not, run away.  Take the Gingerbread Boy's advice to run, run as fast as you can!

And that is my very small, but very honest advice.
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As I shared these thoughts with Bryson we had a good laugh at our situation, at each other and the crazy situation we are in that there are many days and weeks where we primarily communicate via phone.  This past week, we have been sailing ships passing in the night/wee hours of the morning.  He comes home and collapses just a few hours before I get up with the children.

Then when I am up, it's a battle as we try so hard to keep things quiet for him, but with 3 children getting ready for school in this small space - that is not an easy task!  We zoom out of the house to get to school on time, and for the past few weeks I've had meetings and class projects to get ready for the Silent Auction going on at the school.  So, by the time Bryson does get up about 1/2 hour later I'm off to the next event for the day while he gets ready and heads into the office.  Even if I were to be home - our time together is 30-40 minutes.

I don't know if I'm becoming calloused to this life, but the past few weeks this crazy schedule hasn't bothered me as I've let it during some other times in the past.

It is what it is.

It might not be a normal that other people know.  But it comes back to this is our normal - and we are doing the best that we can with the situation and finding ways to thrive in the face of this rather peculiar schedule.  It's tricky, it's unique - and it definitely keeps us on our toes.

As much as we would love to have more time together - when we do get that time....oh how we treasure it, and love it, and try to enjoy it all we can {not perfect on this one....too bad, sometimes my mood takes awhile to adjust and I spend half a day crying because we are now finally spending time together!  Women and our moods - I don't think I'll ever understand myself!).  But we do enjoy whatever time presents itself to us, and consider ourself lucky if we are all together for even a few hours.

Now this little blog post that I had written in my head is much longer, and I'm thinking over this entire idea of how many hours a person works -  I have to say that I know others that are not in Investment Banking that have strained and heavy schedules.  For those that are fighting to stay up during long hours & scheduling in times to see each other just so you can say 'I DID see my husband/wife today!' - I have to say I hear you and I feel for you....we are there too.  And somewhere I hear that we might just become better for this.

Or, you could just remember to RUN! 

it's tradition....

Thinking about the bedding situation - I shouldn't be so surprised that we are testing out bedding and that I'm considering it's on loan....until I really make up my mind. 

I tend to do that with other purchases.  Big or small - there are just some things I don't want to commit to, until I know that I'm going to really love it and it's going to work for us. 

Example being - new camera.  I've asked for a new camera for....well, a long long time for the kind I have wanted.  I told Bryson it would be my present for every holiday and whatever this year if I could just get a camera!  And....he finally said yes.  And then he told me that it doesn't have to count for every present - but honestly, I'd rather it be this way....I like knowing that what I get is what I really want and will like. 

The problem with a camera - I didn't know what one I really wanted.  I've dreamed so long about having one, but I had no idea which kind to get.  I ended up at Costco getting groceries the Thursday night that Bryson's parents came in town, and I looked at the cameras.  And I asked about their return/exchange policy.  And I walked out with a camera....and a really big box that housed everything. 

And since then I've had fun trying out a few different shots.  I haven't had as much time as I had thought I would to read through the manual, watch the tutorial and really try it out.  However, I do know that I love taking pictures again with something bigger than an iphone, and although I don't know all the ins and outs - there are some great features on little Nikki (short for Nikon whatever version I got).  

The crepe post was one of the first group of photos I took - which was back last Saturday (the 5th) after we watched Bryson Jr.'s basketball practice, which I took pictures of as well, but I wanted to post these pictures of the boys. 

Bryson (Sr.) has been working really, really long hours lately.  I still need to catch up on the post about Virginia, but his intense work came back that week of President's Day when the kiddos had their Mid-Winter Break.  He worked all week - long hours.  we worked the following week - even longer hours.  He miraculously was able to get off some time while his parents were here....not like time off, but he worked what  we joke was a regular work schedule back in the day - he got off at 6pm that Friday and he was able to get off on Saturday and Sunday and do things with us, and even Monday night he was able to get off at 6:30pm and join us for Mary Poppins - although he did have to go back in the office for a wee bit after the show.  

This past week was more brutal than the past two weeks.  The last two nights, I finally had to go to bed around 1-1:30am as I was falling asleep waiting for him to come home....I think he said it was between 3 and 4am he got home....he honestly couldn't remember with last night he was so tired.  

Anyway - the point to this....the boys love when he walks through the door!  Today after church we dropped him off so he could do some things for a few hours and when he walked in the door the boys ran to him and did not stop talking to him or let him out of their sight for very long.  It's tradition to play and wrestle around with daddy and Jacob just couldn't get enough of daddy time tonight...