Life As We Know It...

It's been awhile (once again) for posting...

I thought that I would post on the phrase, "I don't know how you do it". That is what I hear every time that Brett is gone. So, here goes...

Brett and I met over twelve years ago. At the time, he was building his hours as a pilot and I was working for Citibank and working as an assistant wedding coordinator. He was living in Texas and I was in California. I was busy with my life... working and line dancing. He busy flying all around the country at night flying jets for the first time.

We saw each other every few weeks or so, depending on schedules. I moved to Las Vegas to become a wedding coordinator full time but after about 9 months, I knew working for a casino wasn't for me. Brett talked me into becoming a flight attendant. This was before Sept. 11th and we could jump seat together and travel. What a great experience!

After Sept. 11th, I was out of a job. The airline that I worked for went under so I went back to a desk job. I also went back to school to finish my degree. Brett moved from Texas to California for a new job. He worked for a company that promised him the world but didn't deliver but commuted back and forth.

After a few months, Brett found a new corporate job in Phoenix. So our commute didn't take any longer than before... just a different direction. By this time, we had been together for about three years and this was our life.

After about a year and a half, I finally finished school and we made plans for me to move to Phoenix. Woo Hoo! No more commuting, or so we thought...

Brett found another corporate job in Houston, Texas. I visited once and knew that I was not going to move there. The bugs were gigantic and the rain was crazy. So, we were back to commuting to see each other. So far... so good... it worked for us.

We didn't see each other much, so Brett once again found a new job ~ in California. Yep, not in Arizona. We continued the commuting. Although, this time, not much commuting for us to see each other but for the clients that Brett was flying to Europe. He was in Europe for several months at a time.

At this time, we got engaged. We pretty much planned our wedding together by phone and email. We pulled off an awesome wedding and when we returned from our honeymoon, Brett started a new job in Phoenix. After seven years together, we finally moved into the same state together.

The new job had Brett around more than I had ever seen him but after about a year, he started to travel more due to company politics. It was hard to see him go once I was pregnant with Katherine. He was gone for weeks at a time, again. Just as I got used to him being around, he was gone again.

As you know, Katherine was 5 weeks early and I was very lucky that Brett was able to make it home in time to see her birth. I had an emergency c-section on a Friday, released from the hospital the following Monday and he was gone on a week trip on Wednesday. I didn't sleep that first night and the only thing that got me through the first night, I said to myself, "Single moms do this every day, so I can do it". I made it through my first night, second and every other night.

So to come back to the phrase, "I don't know how you do it", after twelve years, it's the only thing that we know. It started off with just Brett and myself but as the years have gone by, our family has grown. Katherine understands that daddy goes to work and then comes home. BJ knows that daddy leaves every once in awhile but then gets mad at him when he returns. And then there is Lucky... he thinks that Brett hangs out in the garage.

I am not saying that there are not times that it's hard not having our family "together" but we are always together. Each night that Brett is gone, we call him no matter what time it is and either talk to him or leave him a message. When Katherine leaves Brett a message, she says the same thing every time, "Hi Daddy. I miss you daddy. I love you daddy." and then hangs up the phone. It's very cute and it is life as we know it...