You know, it’s kinda funny.

I didn’t realize until this past week how long I’ve been living for the Next Big Thing.

In 2003, I was shocked out of my wits when John dropped out of the sky and I was soon planning a wedding. Ever since, it’s been one thing tumbling in right after the other.

In 2004 we got married–after so much planning, the wedding was over and it was time to get settled as a little married couple. That next fall, we had our first, quite unexpected early miscarriage and we suddenly realized how much we wanted a baby.

(It’s amazing to me how quickly after getting married couples–even ones who say they’d prefer to wait a while–become eager to have a baby. But that’s a whole ‘nother topic… rabbit trail… whatever.)

February 2005 brought another pregnancy and much excitement, only to end in another miscarriage, much more devastating this time.

As you’d expect, The Next Big Thing became having a baby. By summer Troy was on his way and, of course, I thought of not a single thing for the next nine months that didn’t involve babies, tiny blue clothes, breastfeeding, and diapers. But first, we had to move across base. They were remodeling our house and kicked us out. So we did. Got settled in and prepared for a baby.

Baby came in March and, of course, consumed our lives for months. We lived for that first smile, the day he sat up, first foods, those first steps. The Next Big Thing was each and every baby milestone.

Then came 2007. We were just starting to come off the baby high, feeling a bit stable and then. And THEN. It all hit at once.

Within a few weeks early that year, we got orders moving us to a different base, learned John was heading to Iraq, found out the base was remodeling our then-current house and we had to move again BEFORE we made the big move in four months, and were expecting another baby. That last one? Smallish, you know. Or not.

So that was, uh, several Next Big Things in a row. They all kinda mesh together now in the fog that is Morning Sickness and caring for a toddler.

And then we ended up here. Merritt was born in November, a week later John had surgery, a couple weeks later we made a pre-deployment trip to John’s hometown in Colorado, got home right before Christmas, and by the middle of January, he was in the Sandy Spot.

Whew.

It makes me weary just typing it.

But now, here we are. The Very Big Thing of John’s homecoming has come and gone. I can’t say the post-deployment high has really worn off yet, but things are starting to settle to normal.

We have routine. John goes to work. The boys and I are home doing normal things during the day–going to the park and playing with friends, going to the gym, coloring pictures, doing chores, keeping up with our schedule. Dinner’s usually cooking when John walks in the door and the boys scurry to the entryway shouting, “Daddy!” and “Dada!” We do dishes. We give baths. We have devotions and tuck the boys in bed.

It’s so incredibly normal. So normal, in fact, that I sometimes feel my eyes moisten (okay, sometimes I bawl) when I really think about it.

I spent months longing for this… and now it’s real. For the first time ever, we’re a normal little family of four, doing ordinary things, and enjoying our little life. Crazy.

And then today I realized that–seriously?–there’s no Next Big Thing on the horizon. Really, this is the first time in John’s and my life as a couple that we can just… be.

Nothing to prepare for. Nothing major to work toward. We talk about little things like what we’re doing this weekend, John’s parents’ visit late this month, Merritt’s first birthday (okay, well, THAT is slightly crazy–that little cutie patootie being one year doesn’t seem quite possible), vaguely talk about what we want to give the boys for Christmas and what kind of cookies we’re going to make.

There really isn’t a Next Big Thing in the near future.

After five years… I think that’s okay with me.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...