Long distance is hard. Adding two small kids with busy schedules, a dog and a full-time jobs to a long distance marriage makes it harder. I’m rooted in Indiana and he’s rooted in Illinois. I’m alone throughout the week and sometimes I go two weeks without seeing my husband. No one is here to help cook dinner, rub my back or kiss goodnight.
But this isn’t a “woe is me” story.
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. A holiday I usually roll my eyes at because when you have two young kids, you don’t get a day off. This weekend proved that as I shuffled to pick one kid up to take her to the north side for practice while the other kid was marching in a parade. We rushed out of practice to sit through a double header before heading out for date night. I put my makeup on in the car while trying to stay awake since I woke up at 7 am on a Saturday for baseball.
We spent Mother’s Day at the movies to see Detective Pikachu. We made a pit stop at the grocery store because Addy was out of her shakes and I wanted a donut. We picked up red roses to take to my grandma’s grave after the movie. I spent the rest of my day quietly cleaning up my house and half watching Gossip Girl before going to dinner at a pizza place because my kids wanted it earlier. (Neither child ate the pizza because they had changed their minds since.)
But in all of that, I realized that Billy washed the dishes in my sink, made lunch for the kids and played with them while I hid in my bedroom, folding my mountain of laundry. He insisted I order a pizza, as large as I wanted it, even though the kids didn’t want it. Whatever I wanted on it even though he doesn’t eat pepperoni. He gave me the most thoughtful gift, as he always does. The first year we were together on Mother’s Day he sent me a bonsai tree. The card read something about how I don’t care for this holiday so pretend it was for May 4th. He knows how much I enjoy nature and after listening to me randomly mention how I want a red bud tree once we have our own home together, he got me seeds and a little tree planter with bears on it. (Another request but he won’t budge on the whole “bears are not pets, they will eat you” thing.) He also knew to give me the gift on Friday, in a penguin Christmas gift bag because Mother’s Day is overwhelming. And this card… it might be my favorite/creepiest one yet. Yes, that’s Gritty in the baby carriage.
I’m not just spoiled on Mother’s Day though. He is a true friend/partner/husband to me and dad to the kids. He will always play whatever the kids want, even if I remind all three of them to not run in the house. He reminds the kids to thank me for dinner or a day at the park. He helps wash dishes or cuts the overwhelming backyard. He’s always around for a pep talk after a disappointing strike-out or to chat about a victory. He will always jump on FaceTime to help my anxious daughter calm down. He helps so much from 180+ miles away so it doesn’t always feel like I’m alone. Every single day I’m thankful for the unconditional love he has for me and the kids. Even when he doesn’t care about Game of Thrones but listens to my recap/gripes/thoughts. Or when he takes me to the Game of Thrones themed bar and takes ridiculous pictures of me all evening.
He will always be my biggest supporter (I wouldn’t be writing this at all if he didn’t push me to write more). He reminds me every day that I’m a good mom, writer, photographer, events person, cook, baker, publicist, activist and wife. (To name a few things.) He’s thankful for me and I hope he can understand how thankful I am for him, even on my cranky days. He puts a smile on my face even when he’s not around. I never thought I’d meet my person. My best friend (even if we love to make fun of each other). I’m so glad I found him when I had no plans to look at all. It turns out he is exactly what I needed.
