A Rough Patch...Life Lately

[My beautiful boys]

I don't want this to come off as me complaining. I know people are dealing with far worse struggles in life. I more or less would like to remember these times as a learning experience for us in the future.

For the past month my husband has been working 80-87 hours per week. Double the average work week, and then some. But times are hard in our household these days and he is doing it all so we can get back on our feet. What a man.

My husband has a regular, but temporary job, Monday thru Friday. All of June and into July he has had mandatory overtime. 10 ½ hours days and Saturdays. He is on two Fire Departments and attends “drill” twice a week for them. He also works at least 2 overnight shifts at the station each week and responds to every call when he is home. He works for a home repair company whenever they have work on the weekends. He also works at Navy Pier doing EMS and since the warmer weather has been here he has been working a few shifts there each weekend.

Needless to say, we don’t see much of him, and it really sucks. The only reason we see him is because of the fact that we share a car. Yep, one car for the past 5 months. We both work too so its pretty tricky. Thanks to the help of my amazing family we are able to make it work, but like I said, it sucks.

Lately I feel so drained, exhausted, and just plain tired. I feel bad even complaining since my husband works so much more than me, but it’s rough.

Each day is filled to the brim. We wake up around 6. Run around and get ready, hoping the baby stays asleep until we leave. Then we usually leave (late) and I drop Brandon off at work at 7.  I can’t drop Noah at the babysitters until 8 so I stop by my moms house and feed the baby/play then make my way to the babysitters and then to work. I get off at 5 and then drive back to pick the baby up then back to Brandon’s work to pick him up, drop him at the firehouse, and then home. (I drive around 78 miles a day) Then it’s playtime because by the time we get home I have about an hour with my little man. Feeding time, bath, and then I nurse him to bed. On nights when he actually goes to bed I get a few hours to get ready for the next day. But normally he will fight sleep for about an hour and a half. By then it’s after 9. I make myself something to eat, get his diaper bag ready for the next day, make his food for tomorrow, make lunches, dishes, laundry,  and then anything I can accomplish from my never ending to-do list. Shower, bed, rinse, repeat.

I know every mom has a million and one things too do and I’m not trying to complain. I more so just wish that things would get easier so I can find some sort of balance. It also does not help that my son still wakes up about 5 times throughout the night. Half of the time I can get him to lay back down with his pacifier but then there is the other half…. The next day I can barely keep my eyes open and my neck up at work. It’s draining.

This little rough patch has been an experience to say the least and a big lesson learned on our part. I know this is God’s way of prepping us for the future and I’m ok with it, however, I’m still having a really hard time making things work. But I know that not too far down the road I will remember this small little rough patch of ours in a sea of so many bigger and beautiful patches and I’ll be thankful for the lessons it has taught my husband and I.