Friday, January 11, 2013

Hello, my name is...

Chopped Liver.

I just found out that I'm being sent to DC for work for 3 whole weeks. Actually they asked for 4 weeks, but there's no way I could be away from my kids for so long. 3 weeks away from my life is going to be rough in itself. At least I'll have constant work to keep me busy during the day and too exhausted at night to feel lonely.
Anyhow, I was telling the kids I have to leave for work and their grandma is coming to stay with them. All they had to say when I told them was "Is Picklejar still going to come over for dinner while you're gone? We'd miss him if he didn't come over for 3 weeks".
Can you believe that?!
I was fixin to bust out the mom speech. You know, the one that starts "I carried you IN MY WOMB for 9 months..." but then I realized that it's actually a good thing they aren't entirely fixated on me and totally dependent upon me to make decisions anymore. For a long time after the split I couldn't hardly leave the room without one of them freaking out, so a little breathing room feels a lot more healthy.
A delightful side effect of work in DC...TRACY!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to see her and the red headed terrorists again, it feels like it's been forever. There are some other friends in the area I want to say hello to, but I plan to hop on the Metro every night after work and head to her house. And weekends are going to be crazeballs! I have it on good authority that we will even get a chance to go do something WITHOUT KIDS while I'm there! The excitement, it's too much, I need to sit down for a minute...
I've been working on a new training program for the government entity that employs me for almost 2 years now. Finally it has moved on to the next stage and we're introducing it at another airport. This airport is right by Headquarters, so our training classes are going to be closely monitored by big wigs and mucky mucks waaaaay up the food chain from me. The course itself is super involved to lead, 5 straight days of grinding, but with "super important people" watching our every move it will be even more intense. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally now, but I guess there's no telling how it will really go until I get there. All in all, just knowing that I finally get to see this program take off is indescribable. This is one of the most difficult tasks I've ever undertaken where work is concerned, and it's definitely the most rewarding. Just a couple more weeks...

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Well color me shocked

My middle kid (Thing 2) got baptized this last weekend. Hard to believe that a year ago I had a kid who felt like he wanted to die because his world was falling apart. I'm not kidding, he once tried to run out in traffic. But now, especially since  he decided he's thrilled to have a stepdad in his future, he's returned to my happy, calm, exceptionally aware kid. You could feel the spirit and belief in the room when he made the choice to be baptized. His dad couldn't be there but he decided to have both grandfathers be a part of his special day. My dad baptized him, which was kind of a big deal since my dad wasn't a member when I was baptized, and my ex's father confirmed him. It was really, truly awesome to have them both be a part of his day.
The reeeeeeeally awkward part came from Thing 2 wanting my future dh (I shall hereafter call him Picklejar) to be at his special day too. Oh yeah, let's just get my formers in the same room as my future and all just spend a few hours hanging out together. Yikes. It's pretty messed up when my crazy parents and the Sister missionaries are Picklejar's comfort zone. My ex hasn't as yet discussed my impending nuptials with his family, so we pretty much just tried to avoid that side of the room so that we wouldn't ruin my son's big day. It almost worked too...
I swear, I only stepped out of the room for, like, 5 minutes. Somehow, in that short time, my former mother-in-law searched out Picklejar and introduced herself. As soon as he said his name she replied, "Oh yes, Thing 1 has mentioned you before". Bum bum bummmmm. Poor Picklejar, awkwarrrrrd.
Other than that, it all went beautifully, but, ya know, that was a pretty big thing.
Anyhow, later the former's left but my former brother and sister-in-law and the cousins were still there. I pulled my sister-in-law aside and filled her in and she even said they'd come to the wedding. And then she said something that really hit home...
My sister-in-law mentioned that a couple of years ago, at a family campout, all she could feel was a dark cloud around me. Now, she said, she feels a calm glow around me and the kids, and she can tell Picklejar is a good guy.She claims that she is honestly happy for all of us and wishes us the best. This was really the last thing I expected to be honest.
The bishop and the RS president both talked it out with me, and they feel good about where I'm going. The Sister missionaries frakkin love the guy and are happy for our family. Finally, we are almost at the beginning of our life together and everything seems to be coming together.
In the next installment of "As My World Rotates", the experience of breaking the news to coworkers, which was delightfully evil and fun.....