The End of an Era

Sorry for my lack of posting these past few days. It wasn't for a shortage of fun things about which to post: Josiah and I going to market on Saturday, doing sidewalk chalk in the driveway, visiting the library, building huge towers with blocks, finding that Josiah had nabbed the remnants of a box of uncooked spaghetti off the counter and delighted himself by breaking it into a million pieces, stick by stick, in the living room. :) Nor was it for lack of funny toddlerisms: multisyllabic words couched in complete sentences, backed by 2-year-old logic, never fail to make one grin! I love having a 2-year-old! However, the reality of actually living these things left me too wiped out to so much as open the computer. Yeesh.  

Jesse's due back tonight (can't wait to see you!!), and with mixed emotions I share that an epoch in our lives is drawing to a close. Jesse is shifting his position at HOPE, leaving the Director of Programs role later this spring. This will mean far less travel for him going forward, which also means that "The Daddy Connection" will either die a natural death due to such infrequent posting or will need to be reincarnated as a more run-of-the-mill family blog --- which I suppose is close to what it is anyway, truth be told. We'll see. 

I say my emotions are mixed about this change because of how incredibly gifted Jesse is in his current position. The role shift is due to me, Josiah, and the new baby on the way -- and the lifestyle we're trying to live as two working parents -- and while I know Jesse is truly happy to leave the D. of Programs position, I can't help but feel twinges of guilt that our family is standing at all in the way of his remarkable talent. I sometimes wonder where he'd be if it weren't for us...  This post isn't meant to be an 'ode to my husband,' but let me officially go on record as saying that I know no one, absolutely no one, who has Jesse's strikingly well-rounded qualities of complete humility and graciousness, surprising diplomacy, sharp critical thinking abilities, and plain old intelligence (both fluid and crystallized, look it up) --- not to mention that he's a great dad, maintains our vehicles himself, has impeccable grammar (okay, that one is just important to me!), is finishing our basement (I'm talking from concrete to spare bedroom, full bath, half kitchen, and family room), is a respected leader in so many different venues, has an enviably keen mathematical and business sense, and of course is tall, dark, and handsome to boot. :) Really, all of this is to say that I'm overjoyed at the thought of having this man close to home far more of the time, but it occasionally feels a bit selfish that in order for us to have him more, other things will have him less. That said, we've talked a hundred times about a host of alternatives, like me leaving my job altogether, for instance, but this seems to be the best choice all around. 

So that's the scoop. I'm not quite sure when the next post will be. I'll try not to let it be too long...