It has been awhile I know.  My husband took leave and came home to visit.  If you have been following the situation, the GW is going to be in San Diego for *just* a little bit longer.

It wasn’t the best homecoming though – I drove, at midnight!, to pick him up in Newport News.  Too bad he flew into NORFOLK!!!  Yeah, communication glitch that definitely put a chill on the passionate embrace I had been picturing.  We can never seem to get it right like they do in the movies.

Then, of course, is the “re-entry period” that always follows a homecoming (even for 2 ½ short months) where he wanted to change/challenge everything I have done in his absence and I wanted to kick him in the face for it. 

So far, he’s complained about how long I’ve let Thing 1’s hair get, where I set the thermostat (I finally figured out how to change it and we are all much cooler now), how the kid who does our lawn is doing our lawn, and the fact that I haven’t started his car once since he’s been gone (ok, that one I did feel bad about).  He’s also challenged my way of balancing the checkbook (I round up to the next dollar to keep zero’s in the total.  Hello!  That works out to be a nice cushion of extra money!), loading the dishwasher (he did that when he was home – no biggie), and the biggest offense yet – the way I requested his phone be put on inactive status for the duration of his deployment.  You see, since they will be in San Diego for at least another month or so he wants to reactivate it and I don’t want to do that.  I would rather him use one of those pay as you go phones – his brother has one to let him borrow – and just buy the minutes.  He doesn’t want to do that – he wants to call the phone company, start his phone up again for however long they are here, then turn it off when they leave.  The problem is, of course, all the red tape you have to deal with with the phone company.  I’ll spare you the details but the fact he is so set on challenging my plan for borrowing his brother’s phone is infuriating to me…probably because it came so close on the heels of the “haircut discussion” that never really ends but merely recedes in the background for a later date.

I know what is going on though, I’m resentful at his questioning decisions I’ve made in his absence and he’s trying to reinstate his position as head of the household.  Instead of being thankful and appreciative of how I’ve handled our family affairs, I feel like I’m being graded and found lacking.  Plus, it doesn’t help my ego that the kidlets dropped me like a bad habit for daddy.  Pity party city man, right?  Oh, I know it pains him to know what he misses – pictures and email can’t replace a warm body to wrestle with.  Nor can they climb the jungle gym or play power rangers.  I know Mike hates being away from us and feels the need to make sure all is in order when he does get home.  Still, knowing where we are both coming from doesn’t make it any easier though.  Nor does knowing that it happens every time he comes home.  There are always new decisions, my need to set the thermostat lower, and Thing 1’s ever growing hair – haha.  The ever eternal battles, right?

I keep telling him it is a good thing he’s such a good kisser, otherwise I wouldn’t put up with his temerity…but that is just to distract him while I round up to the next dollar in the checkbook!