(no subject)

[savvyliterate]

We had a ton of fun in Gatlinburg except for the fact that the WiFi at the resort sucked. What contact we had with the outside world was through my cellphone, which was pretty good for chatting at least. I think my niece was highly amused by gidget_zb and penguinspy42 because I forgot to log out of BeeJive when we were driving down to Pigeon Forge to go see Breaking Brains. I loved, loved, loved spending time with my family. I miss them so much, and because my middle brother wasn't along, there was a decisive lack of drama. We got to do MagiQuest, which was amazing (and I got a cool wand), my sister-in-law and I went on an unexpected hike that netted some gorgeous photos (and still apologizing for it this week because a one-hour drive turned into four hours, oops), we did Thanksgiving dinner at the resort, browsed a huge Christmas shop in Pigeon Forge, got fresh fudge and tea in Gatlinburg and more. Mike was horrified by the overall tackiness of the tourist areas, but loved the gorgeous mountain views. He got the above shot with my iPhone 4S, which has an amazing camera. I'll be sure to get more photos up.

So Mike's been here nearly 10 days now, and the bulk of it was spent not at home. Now that we're back, the definitely learning curve has fallen into place as we're figuring out how to mesh our lives together. Every day, it seems we get some sort of signal that he's not going back. Monday, it was his Social Security card arriving in the mail, today it was him getting a phone number of his own here.

Here's a couple of observations from the past few days. I noticed when I got married that there were very few candid looks at the beginning of marriage (even though we've been married 20 months, but still ...), but here's mine:

I think the worst time for both of us was the night he arrived and the day after we got back from Gatlinburg. Both of them were sort of a "what do we do now?" sort of thing. Mike cried as he unpacked, looked at me and said, "I want to go home." I hugged him tightly, whispering, "Of course you do, baby." Because it's so strange, even though he's been to Harrisburg before. He's going to be homesick, and that's completely normal. I was the same way when I moved here. There's that sense of permanence this time. It's getting better, I think. That first day after Gatlinburg, I kept following Mike around going, "You don't need to clean. I feel so lazy. I can do this, it's OK." The best thing for both of us I think was that I went to work. After finally having some distance, I realized I shouldn't treat my husband like a guest. I apologized for that, and it got better.

My sleeping habits are adjusting like I thought they were. I'm going to bed earlier now and am getting up much earlier, which is a good thing.

Mike is a much better housekeeper than I am, but I am finding I'm being a bit more conscious about some of my habits as well. We're doing a fairly good job of sharing the housework, and I no longer feel guilty if he does a bit more because I have a job and he doesn't plan to look until after Christmas.

We're both comfortable around each other, and we always have been. Doing errands together is fun, and getting his phone was such a morale booster for him I think. It's feeling a bit more like home now. He's picked out a desk, and the tube with his pictures and wallscrolls arrived from Liverpool. I can do things such as write around him. We like spending time together, but I don't feel like I always have to be in the same room as him. But, it feels like I've got my best friend within reach, which is true. He's one of my best friends, and I love spending time with him as a friend in addition to being a wife.

Lil'Bit has constantly followed Mike about and is always in his lap. Peekaboo has really come around regarding Mike once he realized that Mike wasn't taking his place as king of the household, but was another servant. He's currently cuddled up next to Mike on the sofa as he plays Arkham City.

Mike thinks all American drivers are insane, but did manage to fall asleep with me driving.


So, I think our fears are proving unfound, and already it feels like to me that he's always been here. It's just going to get better.