24/7

Vacation was great - incredibly scenic, physically challenging, adventurous, unique, and long enough that, as great as it was, and it was, we were ready to come home when it was time.  There was time for relaxation, time for introspection (even the teen boys), time for adrenalin (especially the teen boys but also the grown up one), and lots and lots of time together.  (Re-entry has been a bit harsh - we're all sleep deprived and completely off schedule, but that will fix itself.)

We were together as a family 24/7.  We are, of course, always a family, always 24/7 - just not always so together so closely.  And it was good.  As the boys get older, they really have grown and matured, the whole dynamic between them and among all of us changes - sometimes and is some ways really nicely.

We are each - He and I - parents 24/7.  These two are our first time being parents (obviously, but i sometimes forget this is true and important past the toddler stage).  Each new phase still comes with a brand new learning curve.  This still takes energy - less physically these days, but more mentally and emotionally than ever.

We are our respective professions also.  We both try hard not to be that 24/7, but neither of our jobs is just 9 - 5 either.

We are husband and wife 24/7.  That alone covers a lot of territory - parenting, but also running a household, planning for and doing all the things now, planning and doing for our future, enjoying each other's company, adapting to life and each other as things flow along, being intimate, being concerned, taking care of each other, being annoyed or even angry sometimes, being joyful with each other.

He owns me and I am His 24/7 also.  And just as parenting is a near constant learning curve, and what it entails to be husband and wife evolves and flows and adapts, this looks and feels different day to day and over the longer arcs of time.  Somehow though, I seem to expect this part of us to be more predictable and static.  I assume it will look and feel the same all the time, to work the same way all the time.  When i reach out for it, I look for it in the same forms and manners all the time.  I behave and react as if it is always the same.

Not recognizing and growing with the M/s aspects of us is about as effective as it would be to still relate to each other as husband and wife as we did when we were first learning each other, or to parent now as if my boys were still toddlers.