Gearing Up

Well, things are back to normal around here at our house. The girls came back from "Grammy"s house full of fast food meals and TV shows! Now we are trying to get ready for all the changes that are coming this month.

First of all, Len is going to be commissioned some time this week (we think Th. or Fri.) and then he'll get his orders on our first duty station (we think Virginia). He will leave at the end of the month for officer training and will be gone for 12 weeks! So, uniforms have been pulled out, inspected, cleaned, and Len is making sure all of his N.S. is ready to go! (There are acronyms and labels for everything he has to do, wear, and say. Right now I'm stubbornly refusing to learn all of them. I know I will at some point, but it's not a high priority right now. So I just refer to it all as Navy Stuff or N.S. If I wanted to be really tacky that S. could be something else! Ha-ha!)

Then, "R" is going to start Kindergarten next week. She is super excited! We've already done the registration and we went and bought school supplies and our first day of school outfit. (She picked out a pink shirt, pink skort, and pink belt! I guess we'll wear some pink socks and bows with it!) We will go up to school this Thursday evening for "Meet the Teacher". So we've been getting all the school supplies labelled and ready to go. And we've had numerous talks with "R" about bossiness, humility, and following directions! (We've also been praying A LOT for the teacher that gets her!)

Then, that leaves me, "B", and "N" who will have to adjust to life at home without Len or school! "N" won't notice much change. She'll just continue on her own little schedule and hopefully adapt to the earlier mornings that will come. But "B" is going to be losing her best friend for most of the day. We've already been talking about the fact that she's too young to go to Kindergarten, but she'll do "school" at home with mommy. Our "B" is a pretty tough girl, so I'm not too worried about her, but it will be a big change. She's always had her big sister around! It will be good for her to be the big sister and big helper at home. Plus it will mean more time for her and I to spend together.

That just leaves me to try and get ready for everyone else's changes and try to maintain some type of normal and sane life. (Am I expecting too much?) More than anything I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for what the next few months will be like. The OCD side of me has kicked into high gear and I've been making lists, schedules, and routines for us to follow. This will help, however, I also have to realize that no amount of planning is going to keep it from being stressful. No amount of lists will keep everything in line. No matter how early I get up each morning or how much I try to prepare, things will still be frustrating as a solo mom. This is where my faith has to come in. I have to lean on God. I have to trust that He will help us through this all, even in moments when it seems unbearable or impossible. This will only be a season, and we will get through it. (This is the pep talk that I keep giving myself. Is it working?)

So, Gear Up! Ready or not, change is coming!