My Guy in Brown

For just over 3 weeks now I have been married to a guy in brown. Now for those of you who know us well don't get too excited, this is not a career change, just a seasonal job. My Beloved is moonlighting at the Brown center and "building better bodies by brown".

It is a tight schedule he keeps. He works his regular day job and gets home around 6:30 or 7 pm and then has dinner together with us all. It is the only time we get to see him together and it has become the golden time of the day. Then before I can even get the kids into bed he is down for a nap. It does get tricky trying to keep four rascals from making any noise so that he can get some shut eye during a time when his body is still wakeful. Then he is up at 9 pm and into work for the night shift. He works loading and unloading until 3 am. Thankfully he is enjoying it as he says it is a lot like playing tetris all night and keeps him mentally awake.

The hardest part of the "day" for him is the drive home when the body starts shutting down in those pre-dawn hours and the chill gets to him. We have taken to keeping him awake by talking on the phone (hands free for him, thank you). It is the only time of the day I get to talk to him. Unfortunately I am at a distinct disadvantage for acute conversation at that hour of the morning. He sees it as finally being on a level playing field verbally. Sometimes I literally don't know if something he said was real or in a dream, I have to check back with him at dinner.

Once he gets home he has to shower off from the diesel and fall into bed for 4 hours before starting a new day all over again. The kids, who are used to him being up before them and having breakfast with them have a hard time letting him sleep or remembering to keep quiet while they start their day.

We are struggling to gain a footing in this new normal. I am glad it is only until the new year. Yet, we need to be radical about the situation we are in and do whatever it takes to meet our financial obligations. Between the adoption expenses and the extensive medical treatment that Sweetpea needs that have snowballed, compounded by the effects of lack of employment earlier this year and now underemployment we need to go above and beyond normal.

Pray for us through this, please.