The Positive Side of Life

A list of a few positives from the furlough:
1.  K is home when the kids get home from school and he has not only been able to see first hand how hard it is to balance homework help and overall kid management at that time AND he has been able to help the kids with fun subjects life math and science (not my strong suits).

2.  E hit a deer this morning on the way to swim practice (she is fine) and did $3k worth of damage to the car.  Since he was home, K was able to get on the phone quickly to the insurance company and we dropped it off at the garage this morning.

3.  He's been a lot more involved with the kids in general (see #1) and taken a bit of the "I need attention NOW" off of my shoulders.  This has especially been great for L who is often slightly off his dad's radar.

4.  We've talked and laughed tons this week which is good for both of us.  K is a really funny guy and since he's around more his humor has definitely lightened the mood up around here.

5.  Today there were no kids in the house and I had a break before I had to be somewhere and do something and I actually had the energy to fulfill those often neglected wifely duties.  Again good for both of us (wink, wink).

6.  He has gotten a bunch of little stuff done for me that has made my life a little easier in terms of logistics.  In this list, was research on financial aid stuff for E which took a little bit of stress off of her shoulders since she thought she was broke and couldn't pay for college--it is seriously the exact opposite of that. Overall, he has done an exceptional job handling the girls' money and, once again, proved that he (we) made the right decisions with how we are dealing with their finances. 

7. K and D played 18 holes of golf yesterday.  The kids had a half day at school so they took advantage of some nice weather and hit the links.  D needs that extra attention and his dad being home filled that void.

8.  He's been running a few times and I think the exercise has been good for his overall mood.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a pretty stressful situation.  While we don't live paycheck to paycheck, NOT getting paid isn't an ideal situation.  Although we have hope that federal employees will get back pay, it is certainly not a guarantee.  We're both trying, however, to think of this in a positive light and take advantage of at least one of us getting a work break and lowering the stress around here a bit. 

I hate to admit it, but I'm secretly hoping there isn't a miracle deal struck tonight downtown...I've got a few more things on my furlough list that I need to get done.