Nothing makes me appreciate my ‘normal’ life quite like having it stripped away from me for 10 days. This week has absolutely flown by. It was nothing ‘special’, but it was perfectly normal. Tim came back late last weekend and I have never felt such relief in my entire life. I find his presence so comforting. I love snuggling with him at night. I love being able to leave Clara with him while I leave the house for a few hours. I love sharing meals together – both the preparing and the eating. I love chatting about our days and the smallest details of our life and the million little joyful moments Clara inserts into our days. I am so thankful for how fantastic our ‘normal’ is.

My heart is quite overflowing, if you couldn’t tell.

In other news…

(This Week) I Kept Myself Busy By

• … welcoming Tim back into the country.
• … attending my moms church group.
• … whipping up a few smoothies in an effort to eat more fruit each day.
• … volunteering at the tax site for a few hours on Tuesday & Thursday.
• … trying a new yoga sculpt class, which I loved.
• … going on a date with my main man to Trenchermen (highly recommended).
• … sleeping – thank goodness.
• … getting the best massage I’ve ever had.
• … swearing at the ice-covered sidewalks as I attempted to get anywhere without falling.
• … reading this (beautiful) book.
  
• … being thankful that my family is together again. Seriously, gratitude has taken over my soul this week and it feels wonderful.

(This Week) I’ve Learned:

• According to my Myers Briggs personality type, I should be living in LA. (here)
• Only 1 in 5 American workers takes a proper lunch break. (here)
• This recipe might be my new favorite way to prepare carrots. (here) 
• This is the (female) middle distance runner to watch. (here) 
• We are in the age of slow love. “…motivated by romance and afraid of what sociologist Andrew Cherlin calls the marriage-go-round—today’s singles are ushering a long pre-commitment stage into the courtship process. Fast sex is part of the package. Couples want to get to know everything about a potential life partner before they tie the knot.” (here)

(This Week) Clara

• … just got her fifth tooth.
• … is using my hair as a rope to climb from sitting to standing. (OUCH.)
• … is crawling on her hands and knees instead of the army crawl she was doing before.
• … has bitten me and Tim quite a few times.
• … is interested in absolutely everything that’s going on around her.
• … tried (and loved) frozen strawberries.

(This Week) I Wrote:

• That Tim being gone for 10 days was a bit of a struggle for Clara and me. (Mon) 
• About the importance of community. (Wed) 

Even though Tim got back fairly late in the day on Sunday, he still had to work all week – so I’m excited for this weekend and some time to relax together. 

What are your plans for this weekend?