A child's birthday. A hug in the middle of the afternoon. Sitting on the couch drinking diet cokes together talking about anything at all. Lackadaisical pace much of the time. Holding hands while walking through a parking lot. Touching feet at the end of the day. Kissing at a stop light. A nooner in the middle of the week. Laughing together at the cuteness of a child's mispronounced word. Pranking. Root beer floats. Two towels hanging together, side by side, in the master bathroom. A calmer home with two parents available to teach, guide, discipline, feed, bathe, clothe, play with, and read to our children. Daily affection. We both recognized how nice simple daily affection felt.
These are just a few of the little things I already miss about being with Mike. We got to hang out as a complete family every day of the week for several months as he recovered. He is back to traveling again today. No one is doing the happy dance.
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I watched him get to know and enjoy each of our kids in ways he had never been able to before. If nothing else, the family bond was somewhat strengthened during this time. Don't get me wrong, we each had days where one or another needed a quiet moment away. It's a little bummer the family marathon time has come (mostly) to a close. It was an enjoyable summer once Mike was far along in the healing department. We were co-parenting nonstop. I didn't want the boys to leave for school because they were so easy - everything seemed so much easier when co-parenting was happening around the clock!
Each of us will adjust, but Mike will have the biggest adjustment. The pressure in his head with the flights to and fro. Being apart from us- his adoring fans that all try to make him smile all day long. Big distances to walk without available nap time to recover. Large spaces with many moving people still trips his eyes with his compromised vision. He will do well like he always does at any given challenge, however, it won't be easy.
He will be back home again with radiation treatment I wish he didn't have to endure. He will be so tired and attend to treatments daily. It will begin at the end of September. Hopefully that will be the end of his tumor situation and then back to regular life where we can care about less serious things such as weeds in the yard or a hangnail.
