KEEPING FLEXIBLE

People have been joking with us, telling us that it was probably a good thing that the kids boomeranged back when they did. Otherwise, John and I might have become a wee bit too accustomed to each living on our own, and having our own way all the time. Ya know what? They could be right!

Being apart really isn't anything new for us. John has always traveled a lot, sometimes being gone for weeks at a time. In fact, there were several periods when we were even apart for a few months. And, as hard as it was to say good-bye each time he left, it was sometimes even harder on the other end - the getting reacquainted part. Just ask any military spouse, who's had to handle every crisis and all of the child rearing completely on their own while their spouse was deployed, what it feels like for their partner to finally show up, shower the kids with gifts, toss all your rules and routines out the window, and get to be the perpetual good cop to your bad cop.

Add to that the fact that John and I are polar opposites in most of our likes and dislikes, and you have to wonder, how did we make it through? I guess you could say we had three saving graces - the first being that we were smart enough to spend time with a good counselor when the going got rough. Second would be the fact that we are both pretty laid back and flexible. Most important of all? Our sense of humor. You just gotta be able to laugh at yourself and your situation sometimes!

Of course, it was probably having the kids around all the time that kept us so very flexible. Once they were gone, and we each had our own ship to command, so to speak, I noticed us getting more and more set in our ways - used to having everything arranged just the way we like it, eating and doing what we want, when we want it. When the "maybe a year at most" separation stretched into two years, and beyond, well, I started gettin' kinda worried!

Then, the kids showed up - just in the nick of time. They were the ideal solvent - the perfect thing to loosen us up a bit and return us to our formerly pliable state. They will both be out on their own again by the time John retires this summer, but their work is done. After this, the rejoining of our two households should be a piece of cake. We'll just put all of John's stuff in a storage facility, and continue doing everything here my way... KIDDING!!! (tee-hee)