. . . and yesterday was the first Monday of Emil's first week back to work in ten months. (And what an eventful ten months at that.) And we're all adjusting . . .

He's been very tired, of course, since he has to get up two hours earlier than he's used to doing. He's basically come home and collapsed this week, and I expect that will continue for a while. The job sounds really nice, though, which is good. If you have to drive a long way, the job better be worth doing.

It's funny how his getting an out-of-town job has shifted our responsibilities and patterns. I've got all the in-town chores now, since he's not around during the day, and eleven hours is long enough without adding errands on, too, if it can be helped. And now, again, since one car is in Grand Rapids all day, the kids and I have to think about car-sharing with the other one; Em drives it to campus two days a week, and Charlie sometimes has our car one day as well. So I have to plan my trips around their schedules, too. Today I went to Meijers before breakfast. How odd is that??

And it'll take a while to get used to having the house to myself so much of the time. I'm going to miss having Emil's company during the day. I suspect that, overall, being alone more will be good, since I'll get more work done, but still. It was nice, before, to get up at a leisurely 8 am, and chat over breakfast and coffee before I had to head out. I'm trying to get up when he gets up (more or less) both to keep him company in the morning and also to get myself moving earlier, too, so maybe I can knock off earlier in the evening. (Ha.) So my work patterns are shifting, too . . .

All in all, the shift is really noticeable. It's not bad, and I'm not complaining (not worrying about money is huge, after all), but it is definitely apparent that life is moving more quickly and requiring more planning than it did a week ago. Makes me think, in a perverse patriarchal inversion, that I wish we had enough money so that my husband didn't have to work. (I don't know what that says about me and I'm not sure I want to peer into it too deeply . . . )

Ah, well, I better get to sleep if I expect to get up early tomorrow . . .