I am thankful

This has been a long week for our family.

We returned to Germany one week ago. The day after our return, Wendall's job sucked him in and he has worked 12-20 (yes you read that correctly!) hour days for seven days straight. He had no time to eat, very little time to sleep, and he did not see the boy at all. The most I saw of him was the few minutes it took for him to get from the front door to bed, grabbing a quick bite of food as he walked up the stairs. He was not having fun. He finished tonight at 7:30, sat down to a plate of turkey and stuffing, ate a brownie, drank a beer, and was asleep before the little guy. He has the weekend off, and plans to spend most of tomorrow in bed.

The boy headed back to school. He opened the door on Monday to a chorus of his name (think "Norm!" and you won't be far off!). He had a great time on Monday, but came home really tired. Each day has seen him become more weary, and every morning he has asked if he can stay home with me, like in Pennsylvania. He has fun while he is there, but is tired and cranky. I don't blame him, and his teachers understand.

And I'm dealing with the remnants of the cold I picked up last month and dealing with the clean up of a neglected house. I did not realize I was as far gone as I was until last night, when I nodded off at dinner--at Burger King. It was 5:30 at night. Of course Wendall did not make it home from work until 11 hours later (with no dinner) so I'm not complaining at all.

Tonight, I read a book about thanksgiving to the boy as his bed-time book. When I was finished he looked at me and his daddy and said "I'm thankful for my Mommy and Daddy." We then took turns doling out our thanks for our friends and our family. Especially for our family.

This has been a long week, and for it I give thanks. I thank all of you who support us from afar, and who understand that we live far from home, but keep you close.

I thank my Wendalls, for being.

Thank you.