It wasn't exactly easy in the beginning with Elise. But we both prepped ourselves ahead of time to be extremely patient and keep our expectations pretty low. Neither of us really knew what to expect from her and we didn't want to set ourselves up for heartbreak or disappointment. I think it worked. From day one, she wanted him involved in her activities. But you could tell she was keeping him at arms length. Each day she warmed up to him a lot more though. By day 3, it was like they'd never been apart.
Over this last weekend, we decided to take a short, impromptu trip to Dallas for a family getaway and my birthday. We drove to Dallas, stopping only for frozen yogurt, and arrived at our hotel.
We got a suite so Elise could sleep in peace in one room while we stayed up and watched tv and enjoyed each other's company. After a fun dip in the pool, Elise went to bed early to make up for a lost nap and once she was down we couldn't leave our room.
So my husband took the opportunity to order room service. My favorite Pinot Grigio, beer for him, and chocolate cake for us to split.
The next morning we woke up early with Elise, had a big FREE breakfast at the hotel. We checked out and drove out to get cupcakes from my favorite cupcakery ever (SPRINKLES!), and then headed to the Dallas World Aquarium.
We grabbed In n Out Burgers on the way home and Josh took me to my favorite custom furniture store to pick out a piece for our home I had been wanting for awhile! (Pics to come later...we have a lot of staining/finishing to do first!). Once we got home my sweet friend dropped off some delicious homemade almond cookies and we settled in for wine and cupcakes.
I'm sure not everyone would call that an amazing birthday, but I sure as hell do. Best one yet by a long shot. All I'll ever need in this world was with me under one roof, doesn't get much better than that!
I'm glad we are getting time to just be together this week and next week. It's so funny to us both that our life/relationship just feels like it's been on pause the last six months now. Though we kept in touch and changed throughout the deployment, it feels as if we were never apart now. Life is so much easier with him here and much more joyful. I got along just fine on my own. I even had moments of pure joy and happiness. But it wasn't until he returned that I found myself laughing until I cried, smiling until my face hurt, or getting excited about something as mundane as making dinner or going for a walk. I learned all over again that while I don't need to have this man in my life, I want him there. Any moment that he's present for is much better than any amount of time without him.
This man definitely brings out the best version of myself, and I'm so glad he's breathing life back into that part of me I missed while he was gone. I really missed my best friend and I couldn't be more thrilled to have him home again.
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