Broken Isn't Always...

What it seems.

Today my family becomes broken again.

We've had some crazy changes in the family in the last year.

My husband came home from the oilfields last year when the market tanked. He took a huge pay cut and it took a toll on our family.

We kept looking at the future. We're together! After years and years of being apart, we were finally together! What could go wrong?

I always joke that him working away from home kept our marriage together. We had our own rhythm, in our own ways. We drove each other absolutely insane for the first few months. We never fought (like in the old days), but you could tell we were on the edge.

We found a groove and the bills found a home. On my sofa table in my living room. Living got very tight. Functioning as we had before was a near impossibility. The kids had to sacrifice.

That's when we decided something needed to change.

The oilfields became viable again.

And today, well technically in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, he'll be gone again.

It's a real reality check for both of us. The kids will be able to resume their normal carefree lives (and before you lecture me, yes, I think if you can do it, your kids should be carefree!). I'll be able to pay the bills on time, but now we're all sacrificing in a different way.

People will judge what we decide is best for our family, and to those who do: I don't give a fuck what you think.

We've got a plan. I'm sure it's fluid, but we've got a plan. It's going to keep me busy. And the Patriarch to my Matriarch as well.

I hope the kids understand and remember the sacrifices we all made (them included) so they could have the lives that he and I think they deserve.

Parenting is hard. Being married is hard. Life is hard. Don't live in fear of what could be. Take the chances. Live the life. Love your significant other. And parent like a blind man in a china shop.

~Kim