Another Adventure Begins

Eric works for a company that just purchased another company. The other company has a site in Texas and Eric has been tapped to head west and see what that place is all about. It is a HUGE honor and an AMAZZZING opportunity that could mean even bigger and better things in the future. We LOVE Eric's company and are dedicated to them, as they have been WONDERFUL to us (fertility coverage, adoption assistance, great benefits, and they love Eric :)). The only down-side to this fabulous opportunity is the amount of travel required. Since Eric's company doesnt know what the TX site has goin' on, they dont want to move us out there permanently. (Cant you just picture us moving west, only to have the company decide to close the doors on the texas site?! NIGHTMARE!) So we are staying here until the merger is complete, and while Eric and his collegues determine the future of the Texas site. Well, scratch that...*I* am staying here....*ERIC* is traveling EVERY WEEK until this deal is done. When is that scheduled to take place, you ask? The initial merger/conversion date is set for March 6th. Yes folks, Eric will be leaving our home each Sunday night and flying home every Friday night for the next 3 months. He will be home for 2 weeks (the week of Christmas and the week of New Year's), but otherwise, he will be Texas-bound.
That leaves me here...alone...with Bailey. I am trying to remain upbeat and think positive. Not sure what the silver lining is in the immediate future, but the long term is looking bright. I am focusing on the end results...not the sucky stuff we have to go through to get to the finish line.
We are one day into this travel situation and I am already living the whole "absence makes the heart grow fonder" theme. Let me just tell you how AMAZING my husband is on a daily basis. Every morning, the alarm starts going off at 5:40am. We hit snooze no less than 6 times, giving us an hour of interrupted, semi-conscious sleep. Part of me thinks that is preparing us for parenthood, and part of me realizes that its just plain lazy and stupid. Most mornings, before the alarm goes off the first time, Bailey decides he needs to go potty IMMEDIATELY. Eric is wonderful enough to get up, let the dog out, get the treat, and get back into bed where his spot is inevitably no longer warm and cozy since Baiely has a habit of taking his sweet time outside.
So..he gets up with the dog in the middle of the night. Then, he is the official snooze-hitter. So that obviously gives me the "right" to snap at him when he doesnt hit snooze fast enough. Right? No. Not a fun way to start the day, but he puts up with it and even cuddles up to me after I scold him for a lazy trigger finger.
After the alarm has yelled at us every 9 minutes for an hour, we both get up. I must note that Eric doesnt HAVE to get up at 6:40 in the morning. He can go to work whenever he pleases (within reason). Eric chooses to get up with me EVERY MORNING. While I head to the bathroom for the morning routine I have down to a science, Eric heads to the kitchen. While I am tending to MYSELF, Eric is only thinking about me. So selfless. He gets me coffee, makes me breakfast, packs my lunch (!), lets Bailey out (again), feeds Bailey, and brings me my breakfast and coffee in the bathroom so I can keep my routine moving without having to slow down. Eric has this same ritual every weekday morning. He has never complained or moaned and said "I dont waaannnnttt ttooooo today" (like I would). He has never once asked me if I could just be a big girl and get my day started without him. Eric does this for me Monday through Friday. Then, as he walks me to my car, he lets Bailey out (again) and takes the trash out (if necessary). And I pull out of the garage and he goes back inside, grabs his cell phone, and calls me (I am usually less than 2 miles from home) so we can pray together. And the best part is, he always remembers situations and stories and requests I casualy mention throughout the day or the week. He always includes my mommy friends, our families, friends, strangers,Baileydog, the birthmom of our baby, etc etc. He is the best "pray-er" I know :)
After we pray together, its his turn to get his day started and head to work. No one makes HIS breakfast. No one makes HIS coffee. No one packs HIS lunch. See, he's a big boy :)
So...now that you have a tiny glimpse at how WONDERFUL my husband is, just remember that he does all this BEFORE 7:30am!! He gets even better as the day goes on!! :)
And now you can see why the next 3 months will be terribly difficult. I need to pretend to be a grown-up, put on some big girl undies, and make my own bagel. This should be interesting :) Poor Bailey is already confused.....