almost there

September was a challenging month that I'm glad is almost over.  We had a lot going on with no break until this past weekend.  Between celery harvest going gangbusters and Mike's other commitments, I felt like a mostly single parent.  I really, truly don't know how single parents, military spouses, or those with spouses that travel a lot do it.  I am definitely not cut out to do this on my own.  Three out of the five Tuesdays Mike had meetings (and October will be just as bad, maybe worse).  That makes for a loooong day for both of us when he's off to work around 4am, goes straight to a meeting after work (maybe coming home for 15 minutes to shower), and doesn't get back until after the kids are in bed!  Also, one of the weekends Mike was out of town visiting his brother, which was a good trip for him, just not ideal timing; and, another Saturday was his annual day to a U of M football game with his brother/stepbrothers/stepdad.  Another good thing, but stinky timing with everything we've had going on.  :)

But, FINALLY this past Saturday we had nothing "major" going on - Mike didn't have to be anywhere, and he was able to just do clean-up type of stuff around the house outside, didn't need to spend the day hauling dirt, leveling dirt, or doing some other big project where he couldn't help with the kids.  It was such a breath of fresh air, and just what we needed to feel like we'll be able to survive until the end of harvest (there have been plenty of moments where we really didn't feel like we were going to make it).  And, it was so good for the boys to have a day to spend with Mike doing guy stuff outside!  I was able to meet up with a friend at a flea market for a bit (which was CRAZY - I think half of Michigan was there), and in the evening I had a photo session.  In general I am not doing photography work, but I will take on special projects - this was for a recent young widow at our church who wanted some photos of her kids around their apartment complex before they move to Poland in a few months (where she is from and her family still is).  It's heartbreaking.