For the whole four years we lived up in MA, Will commuted down to NYC for work. He would leave Monday afternoon and we wouldn't see him again until Friday morning. He missed so much with the boys. I used to see my neighbors outside my window after dinner, riding bikes as a family, and I longed for that.
I always planned on raising my family up in MA. Near my family where I grew up. But things don't always work out the way you want them to. Life has a way of throwing you curve balls.
I remember one day we were at a friend's house for dinner. Her husband got home from work and her son who was just a little younger than Nathan got so excited. He started jumping up and down and yelled "Nathan, my daddy's home! My daddy's home!" I'll never forget that moment. When Nathan looked kind of confused and replied back "My daddy doesn't come home." It was that exact moment I knew we had to move back to the NY area.
We could have continued the long distance family thing but why would we? Why would we choose to live apart if we didn't have to? I missed my husband. My kids missed their dad. And Will missed his family.
It's been an adjustment moving down here. It doesn't quite feel like home and I'm not sure it ever will. But moments like this make it worth it. Will got home from work the other night and after dinner took the kids out into the backyard. As I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, I could see them out the window. Just a random Tuesday night and my kids were able to hang out with their daddy.
No more waiting until the weekend. No more cramming a week's worth of family time into three days. We are together every night. And although we might not be exactly where I thought we would be, I know we are right where we belong.