Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

 Hello all, I’m writing to you from 10,000 ft! 

I’m on the plane on the way to my BIG RACE… but let’s save that post for Friday or Saturday, shall we?? 

My life has been AWESOME lately- you know those times when everything seems to be falling into place, work is going well, life comes so easily, and you are getting along with everybody?  Stress is LOW, and you are HAPPY?  That’s NOW for me!! 

One of the major factors to my “newfound happiness” is that my HUSBAND is HOME!!  Dan is in the Army National Guard, and he was deployed to Iraq for 10 months.  He’s been back in the states for 3-4 weeks, and has been HOME for 2 weeks now, and life is just fabulous.

I sort of expected him to feel like a “special guest” in our home at first since he’s been gone so long… instead, we fell back into our normal routine, and everything just feels RIGHT- our home, our family is COMPLETE again.

I felt I like I held up really well in his absence – I never got depressed or super lonely- I had work, training, friends, and family to keep me busy.  I worried about him, but I also knew that the danger he faced was out of my control.  Without realizing it, I put up a “defense mechanism” and blocked out how much I missed him and worried about him… We were so lucky to be able to skype nearly every day, so I got to SEE him and know that he was OK!!

When he called me that day in late October to tell me that he was back in states and OUT of the warzone, I smiled and laughed and told him that I was so happy and relieved.  After we hung up the phone, it really hit me- he was SAFE.  He was no longer in danger.  He was coming home, back to ME, very soon.  And then to my surprise I let out all the sadness and worry that had subconsciously built up over the last year and cried my eyes out in my car. 

Life is good…don’t take your loved ones for granted.  TODAY, make sure you give your special person (or people) and big hug and kiss and TELL THEM that they mean the world to you, and that your life is better with them in your life!

Here are some pictures that we took last weekend with my Mom and brother- my friend Bea Corbin is a very talented photographer, and from these sample pictures you can see that she does a great job capturing the love and bonds our family shares!