Here is a very short update on Simple Island Continent Living:  Very tired but very happy.

I started a new job that is just wonderful.  I didn’t choose the “I-love-the-industry” job, I chose the reliable, great benefits, and stable hours job.  It is wonderful getting a regular paycheck again, wonderful  (hopefully soon!) getting benefits again, and wonderful enjoying what I do.  It’s great coming home to happy faces that missed me – and even when they’re naughty monkeys I still cherish the time with them.

I didn’t always feel that level of gratefulness for my kids the way I do now.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess.  Plus I have the added bonus of knowing that they are with their daddy all day, and he sends me pictures, voice memos, and updates constantly.  I don’t feel like I’m so far away from them now with the advent of great technology.  My son and I exchange voice memos saying how much we love each other, and he can listen to them over and over at his convenience (the first one I sent my husband said he listened to about 40 times).  It breaks up the day into little, manageable chunks when we do small things like that, and it doesn’t feel as heart-wrenching as I worried it would.  I still get to hear my son’s voice, and he gets to hear mine.

My husband also dropped by during my lunch hour one day, and I got to breastfeed the baby and have lunch with my husband and son.  We’re going to try to do that at least once a week – it’s not hard since the Aquarium is maybe a half-mile away from me, and it’s pretty easy for my husband to make a morning of the Aquarium then lunch with Mama.

We also found a wonderful nanny.  She walked through our front door for the interview and just felt right.  We had interviewed another nanny and, while she was nice, she wasn’t “perfect”.  This one feels perfect, the hours she wants are what we’re offering, and the pay she wants is what we’re comfortable paying.  We had her do a trial morning (about 2-3 hours by herself) and my husband said she walked in, took the baby in her arms, and never looked back.

…It’s like things are falling into place…and I worry that they’ll fall out of place.  This much good luck can’t last, right?