What A Way to End!

Personally, I am so thankful to see 2009 end. It's been a wild ride and one that I don't want to repeat any time soon.

Some of the ups were the birth of my daughter and the my nephew. (Connor, finally made his arrival. I love seeing someone else go through all those things a new mom goes through. The worry, exhaustion, happiness...I feel like such an expert to have kept two kids alive for almost three years! :) Lol!) Our wonderful trip to San Diego so my kids could meet their great-grandma!

The downs were when my mother-in-law had a heart attack & stroke. Changed our life forever. We lived in the hospital waiting room for four weeks (with a newborn!) It was a crazy time. Even on my husband's last night of work for the year, which was supposed to be a quiet night, an everyday occurence turned into a life or death situation.

I was so happy to close the door on all the drama in 2009 and so ready to start fresh. I love new years. Chance to wipe the slate clean and start over!

I rarely make resolutions but for some reason, I made several this year:
1. Eat out less. Save some $ and some calories.
2. Drop two sizes by May. I'm not setting limits on food or exercise but I need to do better in both areas!
3. Keep my house cleaner. I'm an early to bed, early to rise kinda gal. If I'd just stay up 1/2 hour longer, my house would look a lot better.
4. Potty train my baby boy.
5. Stick to a budget! I've always lived by a budget; never could understand those who "lived" first and paid bills with what's left. But I mean really STICK - at least one month to see if it's possible.

Yep, I'm looking up a pretty tall mountain. But day two - so far so good! Lol! Happy New Years!

Spouse's Nite Out

A couple of spouse's from the PD and the local Sheriff's Office get together about once a month for dinner. I love this night. We try to leave the kids at home - although our husbands are all on different shifts so some of us can and some of us can't. Other than the fact we subconsciously acknowledge that we are all connected through the law enforcement family, our husband's jobs are never even brought up.

Meanwhile, our husbands are at home dying with curiosity, thinking we are gossiping about them. After we get home, almost every one of them asks, "What did ya'll talk about?" Well, fellas, most of our conversation tonight consisted of the wonderful Black Friday deals we got, one woman's diabetes struggles, and how absolutely horrible the service was.

While most of us are still happily married, some are not. Whether we all remain "spouses" for the long term is neither here, nor there. In what initially began years before as a group of spouses, developed into a core group of friends that simply have one small thing in common!

My Family Is Supported by Crime

At the college I went to, one of the Criminal Justice professor's wives used to invite all the girlfriends and fiancee's of the senior CJ majors over to her home for a "heart-to-heart" about life married to a police officer. I somehow missed that meeting. But as well meaning as it was, I'm not sure a talk would have adequately prepared me for this crazy life...and if anyone should be prepared, it should be me. My father was a police officer for 30 years! But yet, I had no idea -

1. I'd be a single parent when he's on midnight;
2. I can't remember the last time we went to dinner with friends that weren't police officers;
3. A small part of me gets panicky when he's late and hasn't called;
4. Christmas is rarely celebrated on Dec. 25; and lastly,
5. I'm even MORE scared of getting pulled over than the average citizen.

Maybe God knew better. Maybe He knew I'd kill my husband if he was home every evening; or that I'd go bankrupt if I won the lottery. But I sure wouldn't mind trying it to know for sure!