Inner Core

It was an interesting Memorial Day weekend. Hubby decided to enter a golf tourney at the Club (which is a good thing as it gives him a chance to make new golf friends) (but also a bad thing because it meant him leaving by 6:45 each morning and not returning home until about 1:30 or 2p each afternoon). Of course, he was tired when he got home and not much in the mood for social interaction w/ the family so we really didn't see much of him except for Monday when he joined us at the Club pool for a few hours and then at the neighbors for the rest of the afternoon. Honestly, even then I don't feel like we spent any time together as he was hanging out in the pool and I was on the sidelines talking to the gals. Of course, he did some things this weekend to irritate me so I went to bed last night a little mellow about "us". I think we need a vacation together to reconnect. It's so difficult w/ two kids, three jobs, separate hobbies and the rest of life to find time to be together to talk, cuddle or anything else for that matter. After 19 years together, we will find a way to reconnect but it's just a difficult time right now and I'm a bit bummed about it.

I feel a lot of pressure internally to focus on A right now because she's hitting a tough age with puberty, school changes, peer problems, etc. Her and I had a lot of "mom and me" time this weekend which was super nice. My mom and I bought her Wii Fit last week so we spent the weekend toning, aerobicizing, strengthening our inner core, etc. It gave us a chance to learn stuff about each other. She was amazed at my balance and flexibility on the machine. She was bummed that there were games that I could kick her butt on. I explained that even though I'm quite a bit larger than I was in my youth, the flexibility I established at her age still resides in me today. No more back bends and cartwheels, but I obviously have a strong inner core and can do a mean split! I think the more time I focus on her to strenghten our relationship - the more it takes away from my relationship w/ my husband though. Is there a better way to balance both? Maybe my inner core is not as strong as I think??!!

Of course, throw a tempermental toddler into the mix and how can any couple expect to stay connected. We have to tag team most of A's activities because taking E to any school or tennis function is a disaster most days. Usually I'm the one who stays home from all tennis functions and he misses all school functions. E is a walking disaster these days. I really thought we would avoid the typical boy behavior from this one. He hated being dirty, was afraid to do anything that could possibly result in injury and loved to just sit and watch tv, work puzzles or read books. NOT ANYMORE!!!! Now is he all about jumping off furniture, jumping in mud puddles, tearing things up. He's all boy!! Last week, he plugged A's sink and turned the water on full blast which resulted in a flooded bathroom by the time I heard the sound of running water and realized everyone in the house was accounted for and no one should be in the bathroom. Wouldn't have been a big deal except the flooring in that bathroom is the stick-on linoleum tiles which meant pulling them up to dry the bottom and floor underneath and then reinstalling. He's a full time job all by himself.

I guess what I'm trying to make myself understand is that our lives are full right now and disconnects between my husband and I are just part of the path of life. My hope is that we can find some time together w/o the distractions of our lives to stay connected to one another. We are going to a concert together Friday night so maybe that will be a good break from the rest of our distracting lives to be together as a couple!