Update

Here I am, in Iowa. I've been here for about 5 months and I don't mind it, now that the freezing northern wind isn't ripping my body and soul to shreds. That stuff is really hard on a heart patient.

The first four weeks I stayed in the company condo. It was a nice, two bedroom apartment on the south side (Can a town of 10,000 have a "side"?) of town. It was comfy and pretty cozy. It was a little snug when Emily and the girls came up, but I got to spend two weeks with my "girls" and that made it bearable. Although the guest snacks left out for visitors were well consumed by the time my children left.

The next three weeks I stayed in the spare bedroom of a local pastor and his family. It was very comfortable and the bed was great. I felt a little confined, but it fit the need.

During this time I got to know the director of a local Free Methodist Campground. He is renting me a cabin on the grounds and I have been pretty comfortable there, but it is really hard when the family comes to visit. The girls go to bed early and since we're all in one great big space, so do Emily and I. This is fine if we all got up at the same time, but the girls tend to sleep later than I do. I tend to get up at 5:30 and go walk at the local rec center. That is way too early for my daughters and Emily, as well. (By the way, we're expecting our third child. Finally, a boy! It will be so nice to have some more testosterone around the house! So Momma needs rest!) But the rent is doable and it has been rather long term, so I do get to unload the car for an extended period of time.

Basically, I'm living out of my car. That gets old. When you have to be able to pack everything up and move it to another site, for maybe just a few days, you don't have any feeling of permanence. I will be so glad to have my family here.

I don't like being away from my family. My daughters are growing up without their Papa being able to tuck them in at night and my wife is pregnant and essentially a single mom, trying to keep house and keep it ready for showings for the realtors. It has been pretty hard. In addition, we keep having to renew our contract on the house we are buying in Fairfield. It's a hassle. I want to hear how my littlest is learning new words, phrases and how to tie them all together. My eldest is trying to spread her wings just a little faster than she should. It makes it so hard to try and keep them safe from so far away.

And that's part of my job as a father and a husband. I need to be with my wife to help keep her and our new son healthy. I should be here to fix the little things that go wrong in the house so my family can live comfortably. I need to be here so that I can teach my 6-year-old that there are bad people in the world who would harm her and that while she doesn't have to live in fear, Papa makes rules that are designed to keep her safe. If she obeys, that doesn't mean nothing bad will ever happen, but it will tip the odds a little more in our favor.

Family life is a lot of work.

And it is soooooooo worth it!

Thanks for reading.