I have an issue that I've been struggling with during this deployment: I can't (and don't want to) suspend all the fun things that happen in our world, but I hate making memories that don't include my husband. Annual traditions are easy: we WILL go to the Nutcracker, we WILL spend the summer at the pool, we WILL play in the snow. Others are harder: should I take the girls skiing for the first time now, or wait two months until Dad is home? (We went.)
Tomorrow, we are driving home from my in-laws. Part of the deal that makes all the parents and grandparents OK with me driving "alone" (translated: with only children) is that I will not try to drive through, but rather make reservations and stop driving at a reasonable hour. A reasonable hour tomorrow brings us to Savannah, Georgia, which is conveniently located just off I-95. I've made reservations and feel comfortable that it will work for us.
Here's the dilemma: I've never been to Savannah before. I don't think that He of the Sea has been there, either. I have this memory ( might be real, might be imaginary) that we've talked about going there. Together, either as a family or as a couple. And we're going there tomorrow, just the kids and me. It's like going ahead and seeing a movie alone when we'd planned to see it together.
Our hotel is on the outskirts of town and I'm tempted to carefully avoid seeing anything interesting. Honestly, if our day of driving goes like it usually does, we'll be getting in too late to see much anyway. There are fireworks on the river tomorrow night but I'm not sure I want to take four kids downtown at midnight when we could be safely cuddled in our room with some pizza and sparkling cider.
I know that someone is going to read this and say, "You can't suspend your life because he's gone." I agree wholeheartedly. We go ahead and do the obvious stuff, but some things are borderline and they make me think. What situations have you encountered, and how have you handled them?
