Normal? What is NORMAL?!

nor·mal /ˈnɔrməl/
–adjective
1.
conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.
2.
serving to establish a standard.

That word definitely does not describe my life. In fact, I am willing to bet if you look up its antonym, “abnormal”, you would find my picture next to the definition.

The last time I can remember my life feeling somewhat “normal” was about six or seven months ago. At that time, hubs still had the 8-9 hour a day job. I was working my 2.5 days a week, had 2.5 days a week off. I had my desk at work that I had sat at for a good 6-7 years. Life was comfortable. It’s amazing to me how quickly things can change and when they do change how much you can long for what was once considered “hum-drum”.

The first of many, many changes that began the spiral into my abnormal life was when I switched my hours at work from 2.5 days a week to 5 half-days a week. Funny how I think back now at how dramatic a change that seemed to me. If only I knew then what I know now.
Hubs lost his job in April. Or was it March. I can’t even remember now.

We tried to live for awhile on my part-time salary and his unemployment checks but as time went on and the hunt for jobs was proving less than fruitful, the opportunity came along for me to take a full-time position in my office. It seemed at that time that there was no other choice. So I took the plunge and went full time after being priveledged enough to work part-time for almost 5 years. At first it didn’t bother me a whole lot. Hubs was still home in the mornings to be with the kids and my mom could still take them in the afternoon so that he could continue his job search. While life at that point had definitely changed significantly, I still wasn’t quite feeling the effects of having an “abnormal” life.

Then it happened. Like a bolt of lightning. All of a sudden, hubs was offered a job working for a road re-paving company. The company is based out of Kansas and they travel all over the mid-west doing road construction. The up-side? Potential to make very good money. The down-side? Hubs has to travel. A lot. Conveniently, the first job he had was located right in our town. The first two weeks of the job, he just had to drive down the road a couple of miles and he was there.

He was offered the job on a Thursday morning, and his first day was the following Monday. All of a sudden I was faced with the very daunting task of trying to get someone to watch my kids in the morning for the remainder of the summer. I won’t go into all of the details of that because I did so in the post right before this one. What I have found for now is OK, but like I said more expensive than I would prefer and further south than I wanted to have to take them. But you do what you have to do.

Hubs finished up his job here in town last week. The next assignment was to start this past weekend in a mountain ski resort town about 2.5 hours south west of where we live. He and his co-workers are each given a per-diem each week in addition to their salary for accomodations and food when they are away from their homes. Nice perk, however if you know anything about ski resort towns, the amount of per-diem they are given per week would cover maybe 1.5 nights in a hotel up there. Most of them camp out in RVs. Hubs doesn’t have an RV. We don’t even know where our tent is. Luckily, one of his nice co-workers offered to lend him his 8 man tent and an air mattress to stay in while they are working up there. Length of this job? Three to four weeks. Hubs is camping for a month in the mountains. I can’t deny that there is a little part of me that is very jealous about this. The plan is for him to come back home on Friday nights when he gets down working and go back on Sunday afternoons.

He was to leave this past Saturday for ski resort town. His truck was having some issues (again) so he went to go get a new battery for it that morning, which he thought was going to fix the problem. It didn’t. I ended up driving him up there on Saturday afternoon and coming back all on the same day. My poor Mom had to watch the kids that day because, I’m sorry, three kids in my tiny car for six hours?! Hardly. And FIL, of course, was busy.

So, he’s up there. FIL figured out what was wrong in the truck, fixed it for us, and my plan is to go up there Friday night, camp out with him that night and bring him back on Saturday to do laundry, sleep in a real bed, see his kids, then he’ll drive back in his truck (that will hopefully make it) on Sunday afternoon. While he’s gone, I’m basically a single mom. To my girls. Anakin? I don’t know where he is. He left Saturday afternoon with his mom for his regular visit and I haven’t seen him since. His mom moved. I don’t know where she lives; her cell phone isn’t connected anymore and I have no way of contacting her to find out what is going on with Anakin. My guess is, she thinks if Anakin’s dad is not around, then he doesn’t need to be staying with his step-mom. But it would sure be nice to know where he is. Common courtesy, you know. (A foreign concept to her).

Feisty is doing better. (For information on what’s been going on with Feisty, my mom has chronicled her week on her blog. I have had neither the time or energy to do so myself, so thanks to Mom for sending out the word about Feisty and thanks for all of the prayers that have gone out for her.) She seems to be her old “feisty” self again, however her ordeal is not over yet. Her doctor wants her to go to Children’s Hospital in Denver for two tests: a VCUG and a Renal Ultra Sound. This is to determine what could possibly be causing her UTIs and to rule out VESICOURETERAL REFLUX. I talked to the nurse that works with her doctor for quite awhile today and don’t feel quite as panicked as I did when I first heard the words “Children’s Hospital” and “tests”. I just want my baby to be better. They told me that if she has the slightest fever again to bring her in right away. I’ve obsessively been touching her head and face every 20 minutes all weekend. Last night I could have sworn she had one and was trying to picture myself dragging her, Care Bear and myself to the emergency room in the middle of the night since hubs is not around to help. What a nightmare that would be.

Continue to pray for Feisty. She’s not totally in the clear yet. I just have to say that am I ever glad I was a “miracle maker” that donated $15 every month for two years to our Children’s Hospital. Those children’s stories always break my heart and I always told myself that if I were one of those people that had to use Children’s hospital, I would hope someone would want to help me out. Who knew. Never, ever take your child’s health for granted. I never will again.
Normal. Definitely not my life. I do have to say that it is never boring. Sometimes I wish it were.
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High/wierd points of the week?

1. An old neighborhood “friend” of mine whom I haven’t seen in probably 20 years showed up at my mom’s door on Sunday afternoon while we were eating lunch. She was “in the neighborhood” and when my mom opened the door this girl (Amy) said, “You still live here!!” My mom didn’t recognize her. I immediately knew who it was. My friend/enemy of 6 years during elementary school days. I credit her for a large portion of my problems that eventually led me to Remuda Ranch. And I had just been thinking about her a few days before. I just chatted with her and heard a little bit about her life. I decided not to dredge up stuff from 20 years back….why make her feel like crap when she made the effort to come look me up after all that time?! I don’t think she has any clue what she did to me in those days. WIERD.

2. I just have two words: HARRY POTTER. Five days. Via Amazon. Can’t Wait. I’m softening up my Harry Potter chair as we speak. I hope the Blondies are around this weekend cuz I’ll need to be left alone, I say!