A "Normal" Evening

Tonight was a rare occurrence in the Andrew household.  Travis got home from work early enough to go for a run, and shower before dinner.  I made a real dinner (the kind that take more than 5 minutes of prep work), and after dinner and the dishes were done, Travis played with the kids in our family room.  It was awesome.

Travis works long hours for more than half of the year.  When I say long, I mean he is gone by 6 am, and generally not home until about 9 pm.  If he did go for a run, it would be around 10 pm.  During these months, I lack motivation to make a "real meal" for dinner because the kids are just as happy with Kraft Mac+ Cheese, or Campbell's Tomato Soup.  We squeeze as much quality time in with the family during the weekends, but the weekends always pass too quickly.  I am OK with it because Travis is working hard to support our family.  I am so grateful for him and all of his hard work.  I think it also makes me appreciate the small things that may seem like no big deal to someone else...like dinner as a family, and enough time before the kid's bedtime to play around.  Fall is my favorite season of the year, and the biggest reason why is that we get to spend way more time together as a family.