Audriana had her birthday celebration tonight. She invited about 18 friends over our house for a backyard bonfire. Everyone arrived at 6:30. We had pizza and all sorts of goodies. The bonfire pit was blazing, music was blaring — it was the happening place, I tell ya. What an amazing group of friends she has. Audriana had an amazing time.
And I bet you are wondering WHY I don’t have amazing pictures to go with this amazing night? Well, people, that’s because I still take pictures on my old Canon Rebel FILM camera!!! Yes, FILM! Until I can get my new Canon 60D digital that I’ve been wanting, I have to stick with what I have. So….it’s off tomorrow to Costco to get my FILM developed! And then I am sure I will have some photos to add to this blog post.
At Costco, they develop the film and then put it onto a disc. Then I come home, put the disc into my computer and THEN I can use them for my blog posts. Can you believe I do this every time?? How old school, huh? I need to get with the times, don’t you think? What I need is that Canon 60D — when I have that camera…watch out, because I’ll be taking some photos, that’s for sure! I’ll be taking so many photos, you’ll be sick of all the photos in my posts. You’ll wish that all I did was WRITE instead of post photos! Yea, it will be that bad. I’m soooo ready for a new camera.
Maybe for Mother’s Day???
Changing the topic now…
Rich
is
working
waaaaaaaaaaaaay
too
much
lately.
Seriously, this is like the 6th Sunday in a row that he has missed church with us. Last week he was only home on Saturday and then worked, worked, worked all the way through TODAY. Today was the first time we have seen him in a week. He said, “Guess what? I am OFF for the next four days!!!” and I was like, “Sure, sure….I’ll believe that when I see it.” And then guess what? The phone rang at about 7pm and it was the fire station, and yes…they called him into work for tomorrow (Sunday) and so he misses church with us yet again.
Can I complain a bit and say that it’s HARD sitting through mass with nine children? Oh, sure…the older ones are fine, but the younger three can still be hard. Thank goodness it’s only an hour! It’s always easier when Daddy is sitting there with us. And it’s the way it should be. Church should be a FAMILY thing, and Sunday’s should be sacred.
I both LOVE and HATE my husband’s job.
I love it because I’m so proud of what he does, and I love it because he loves and enjoys what he does, and I love it because it provides us with all that we need and then some, and I love it because hey, fire fighters are so very cool.
But I HATE it because they have to work on some Sundays, and some Holidays, and their schedules are really never predictable due to overtimes. Sometimes when he thinks he is getting off duty in the morning, someone will call in sick and he will be forced to STAY at work because there always has to be a certain number of fire fighters on duty. And they don’t care what we have going on that day, either. He HAS to stay at work. It could be his daughter’s wedding, it could be our anniversary, it could be Christmas morning — he stays if no one can cover that shift. End of discussion. That part of the job can really be hard on a family. Thank goodness I am a mellow and easy-going personality who can adjust to change in a blink of an eye. I can’t imagine being any other way when you are married to a fire fighter.
But the thing is…it’s not really about me. It’s about him. Rich doesn’t sleep much. He is so very sleep-deprived. His station is the busiest station in the city, and when he’s at work, he really doesn’t sleep. They go on at least 15 calls a day, most of them after 11:00pm. That can’t be good for a person, right? To constantly be startled awake by a ringing bell that hangs above your head. Seriously, it’s a wonder that bell doesn’t give the fire fighters a heart attack. Actually, what happens first is that the lights turn on in their dorm…and then after a few seconds, the bells start. The lights are supposed to wake them gently. Yea, right. At home, when he’s sleeping, I have to be very careful not to turn on ANY light near him. If he even catches a glimpse of light while he’s asleep, he bolts straight up in bed and says, “What?!! Who?!!! Where?!!!” and I have to tell him that he’s at home, to go back to sleep. It’s okay…relax….shhhhh.
I want him home more so that he can get the proper amount of rest. The overtimes are good money, but at what cost?
He needs more chill days like this one (Lake Mead)
Time to recoup and recover is important! There never seems to be enough sleep in their schedule, even when it’s a day off. Do you guys have any fun vacation plans for the summer? Always a good time to grab some relaxation!
I for some reason didn’t get all the way through this post the first time I read it. I would have a hard time living with so little husband around. What he does is very noble, but I too would worry about sleep deprivation.
My husband works a lot too, second shift, and often until the wee smalls when doing overtime. Scares me, because he has a long drive home. I worry that he will fall asleep at the wheel. He has told me more than once that he didn’t even remember the drive home. Auto-pilot, he was so tired. And men of a certain age *ahem*, just need their sleep!
I hope you get more of him soon, I can’t imagine how much you all must miss him when he’s gone so often!
Love, love, love reading your blog!
Haven’t commented too many times before but just wanted to say that all your kids are beautiful and I would love to know more about them! Maybe sometime you could do a post on each one of your children and their amazing personalities…? Just a suggestion! Anyways, I hope Audriana had a fabulous birthday!
Much love,
Jenn<3