When FireDad and I started dating, he was finishing up his schooling to become a full Paramedic. He was working full-time at the local ambulance company. He was also in the Army. And I knew that his long term goal was to become a professional, paid firefighter. I don’t know why I was surprised when he got on the fire department and continued to work at the other two jobs.

Eventually he finished his time with the Army. Now he only works at the ambulance company on an as-needed basis which, thankfully, is a rare occurrence. Today being one of those days I am left to think about how firefighters often work more than one job. Quite honestly, it’s one of the reasons that working outside the home is so difficult for firefighter spouses. As Val from Fire Fighter Wife said,

If I held a 9-5 I’d have been fired many times in the last 3 years.

It’s true. Many things prompted my departure from the news station in 2006. I felt that I was missing too much of BigBrother’s developmental awesomeness. I was paying out almost all of what I was making in child care. As FireDad was still working both jobs and still active duty in the military at the time, our schedule was stretched past its elasticity. I had missed too much work due to scheduling conflicts, doctor’s appointments and child care issues. When I suffered a miscarriage that summer and my employer refused to be understanding, that straw broke the camel’s back and I started paving the way to come home to work.

Working at home with the fire schedule isn’t without challenges either. Trying to meet deadlines while chasing two little boys around our house (see pictures here) isn’t always the easiest thing ever. If I hadn’t left the news station, I’m sure that I would have been fired at some point since the fall of that year. Like Val mentioned, we’ve taken extended vacations, stayed an extra day or two at my parents or just generally had a relaxing day when we need it. As FireDad is working at the ambulance company today and the fire department for 24 hours tomorrow, I’m going to go ahead and claim Wednesday as a family fun day. But my deadlines will still loom and the work will need to be finished despite any amount of fun that is to be had.

Adding in my part time job has been an interesting transition that is working surprisingly well. I had thought that while the kids were still small and at home with me most of the time (BigBrother goes to preschool three days a week) that I couldn’t work outside the home. I’ve found something that may not pay the big bucks but allows me to stretch my creative wings just a little bit and talk to adults on occasion. So far the boys have mostly been with either FireDad or a grandparent when I’ve had to work. Once we had a day like today where our schedules simply conflicted and we had to call in our trusted, awesome babysitter. I think I’ve used her less this year than I did last year before I started working. Life is funny that way.

As I sit here and count down the hours until FireDad is home today so that I can get some of my things done, I am reminded to be grateful for the jobs we do have. We’re the lucky ones, especially knowing that so many families are struggling right now. Yes, sometimes it’s hard to schedule. Sometimes we’re overtired. We’ve had to make hard decisions and follow through with the difficulties that followed. But not only are we both working but we’re both working in/at things we love while making time for family. Yes, I think we are the luckiest.

Remind me of this the next time that FireDad is off on a fire for more than 36 hours, okay?

This morning, FireDad gave me a kiss at his usual departure time when he’s working his normal shift day. Except he won’t return until Friday evening. And then he’ll leave again on Monday morning, coming home again the following Friday night. That’s right. I’m solo parenting for ten days thanks to the fire department. Whoopee!

FireDad is off at the Fire Academy learning all there is to know about being a Fire Investigator. The Fire Investigator is the one who gets to poke around the scene of a fire after it has been safely extinguished and determine what caused the initial spark. Was it an electrical issue? Did someone fall asleep in bed with a cigarette? Did someone leave a candle lit when they left the house? Or was it something a bit more sinister? There are signs and clues to all of these, of course, and I know absolutely none of them. I do know that if i was to leave a candle burning when I left the house, my firefighter husband would not be pleased. That’s about all I know.

I’m thrilled that FireDad is off learning new things. I believe this is a great move for his career. But, man, I already miss him. Okay, well, maybe not quite yet. I’m used to being alone with the boys for 24 hours at a time. In fact, I can even handle 36 hours on my own. By tomorrow night, after the boys are in bed, it will likely hit me that I have no partner in parenting crime this week. During the holidays, no less, and leading right up to our anniversary. This proves my point, though, that it is better to do your holiday shopping early. Can you imagine me attempting to hit stores with two children all by my lonesome? No thanks.

The good news is that FireDad’s hotel offers free WiFi. I set him up with Skype last night so that we can have a video conference with the boys in the evening. He hasn’t left us for two weeks since BigBrother was not-quite-two (his last year in the Army). They don’t remember their daddy being gone for a long time. And I’ve never been alone with two children for such a long time either. We thought the ability to see each other and for the boys to see him would benefit the lot of us. I think we’ll probably do a conference tonight before bath and we’ll try after bath tomorrow for story time to see which works best. I love living in this technological age. It makes our time apart a little bit easier to handle. (I also wrote about video conferencing with family members over at BlogHer today. Go chime in!)

The next two weeks are rather busy. Take for example today when I tried to take BigBrother to preschool only to remember that he has today off. That’s my first fail of this experiment in solo parenting. Next on our agenda will be to visit the library and pay the fine(s). I’m also insane enough to be taking them to visit Santa tomorrow, complete in their Christmas outfits, for pictures. By myself. Add in actual school days (not fake ones), various conference calls this week and next, deadlines, job assignments, wrapping presents, a fun conference thing that involves driving, mailing things, addressing the Christmas cards and remembering to mail them as well, friends, cleaning, eating, and maybe even sleeping and I’m tired already. And that’s not the half of it. But, even still, I’m confident everything will be okay. It’s just ten days.

Thankfully I’ll get to see this face in between thanks to the wonders of the Interwebz.

I may tackle him when he comes in the door. Especially if he has coffee.

I should probably wrap his Christmas presents while he’s gone… no? Just in case this experience is so horrific that I want to return his Christmas presents by the end of the ten day time period. You know. Let me just add that to my lengthy list of things to do between now and then. Check!

_
[/end NaBloPoMo. I WIN!]

It’s raining off and on today, this first day of May. I’m pleased. Why?

On rainy days, we tend to stay home. I hate dragging both boys out in rain storms, especially as LittleBrother is now of an age where he prefers to walk places. If I could just toss him in a carrier, grab BigBrother’s hand and make a run for it, well, that would be much more tolerable. Right now, the slow pace at which we must walk and the lure of puddles leave us away from the public on rainy days.

So, we’re stuck at home. And with today being the first day of the month, that means I have finished all of April’s deadlines and have thirty days in which to complete May’s deadlines. Sure, someone who was really making the most of her time might launch into tackling certain things today. But this month is looking to be somewhat crazy. I think I deserve a day of ignoring my boss’s instant messages, don’t you agree?

What’s going on this month?

To be honest, the first full week of the month is rather tame. I do have two rehearsals for our Spring Show but nothing is overly demanding that week. Normal things like school and the never-ending-laundry-pile will need to be taken care of but, really, it should be okay. Until that weekend.

On Saturday, May 9, we’re walking in the March for Babies walk (joining the Burgh Moms and Dads March for Maddie) in Pittsburgh. (I’ll finally be meeting Burgh Baby’s Mom even though I feel like I’ve known her for years. Oh, wait, I have.) We’re currently at $75 of our $100 goal. (Care to donate? Go here.) Then we have to be home on the morning of the 10th for my least favorite day of the year, Mother’s Day! FireDad actually works that day so I’ll be busying myself taking care of our Evenflo Comfort Select Performance giveaway (and quite possibly another; stay tuned).

And then Show Week arrives. While we only have dress rehearsal on Monday, Wednesday (which is FireDad’s birthday, mind you) and Thursday, Tuesday will be a crazy full day of cleaning. Why? On Friday, which is opening night of our Spring Show, the Munchkin and family (D, JD and M) all arrive for a timely visit. We have performances on Friday and Saturday night. On Sunday morning, BigBrother has his preschool program at the church which holds his school followed by his picnic at the park. I then have to be at the theater by 1:00 to get ready for our Sunday afternoon performance. While I’m off singing my heart out, FireDad, D and M will be getting a small gathering ready at the house or the park (we don’t yet know for certain) so that my closest friends can a) celebrate the ending of my first Spring Show and b) allow my closest friends to finally meet D, JD, Munchkin and M. We may possibly be throwing in some photographs on the following morning.

And while a sane person might have planned a week of rest after such a crazy week, no, I sure didn’t. On Wednesday, May 20, we’re heading to Dayton to see Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town thanks to MomSelect. (A happy note is that still, non-flash cameras are now allowed thanks to Mom Bloggers who spoke up about that policy. I love mom bloggers!)

We’ll round out the month with Memorial Day which will likely involve riding in the fire truck and a picnic of some sort. I hope someone else is handling the picnic. I sure don’t want to consider it at this point. I mean, when I sit back and read over what I have just written, I haven’t included things like meals, cleaning, that never-ending-pile-of-laundry, reviews I have scheduled, meetings, the launch of a huge project blog that will benefit moms in South-Eastern Ohio, books I want/need to read, working with BigBrother on reading, t-ball games, continuing to sit in the bathroom with LittleBrother every twenty minutes as he figures out this potty thing and… you know… work. Yikes. I’m overwhelmed.

But in the time that it took me to write this post, the sun came back out. Is this a good sign? Will the May Shower bring some great, happy memories? One can only hope. One can only hope.

These two brothers adore their daddy. I mean, so do I. And not just FireDad but I adore my own father. They’re similar in nature that they’re both very involved, very loving and generally fun dads. You know, except when BigBrother attempts to smart mouth me (oh, preschool) and FireDad has to remind him to use his manners in his Daddy Voice. But, generally, these two boys simply adore their daddy.

Which is why BigBrother is having a hard time as of late.

The realities of fire life and the schedule firefighters keep is starting to dawn on BigBrother. FireDad works 24 hours at the fire department and then has two full days at home with the boys (and me!). He normally leaves on his shift day before either of the boys wake up for the day. However, on Thursday, he had a class (followed by the rest of his shift) and so he didn’t leave until 7:15. As BigBrother is a seven-zero-zero riser, he got to spend a few minutes with his daddy before FireDad had to leave. Well, this resulted in tears and some necessary cuddling with me to get him to calm down. FireDad promised to spend a few minutes with BigBrother when his class was over at 5:00 in the afternoon before he had to go to the fire house to finish his shift.

Except that his class ended early. At 3:00. Which is the time that I pick BigBrother up from preschool. And then we had errands to run. So, we totally missed FireDad. We did stop at the fire department for a few minutes. But BigBrother was rather upset.

So when FireDad came home this morning, BigBrother said to him, in the saddest voice ever, “Daddy, will you stay with me today?” And normally, the answer would be yes. But not today. FireDad needed to go help his grandfather with some outdoor work. This news was not received well and has resulted in a very grumpy BigBrother thus far today.

It used to be acceptable to tell BigBrother that FireDad was at work. For LittleBrother, it still is. But BigBrother wants time with daddy as of late. I think that perhaps tomorrow I will make sure that the two of them get some one-on-one time. But for today, I’ll have to offer some extra cuddles and extra patience to a little boy who misses his hero.

In fact, I kind of miss him too…