10 Things I've Loved About Him Coming Home

image via VTArmyNavy

Imagining that everything will be nothing but rosy and you will be nothing but cheerful as reintegration begins, sadly I've found to be impossible. Yes, there is SO much to be happy about. But there are things that are hard to adjust to, even when you know the possibilities in advance. It does help to have studied up on Reintegration, but it doesn't make one foolproof unfortunately. Oh, if only I could overlook the disastrous mess our living room now is, how our daily schedule has been shot to hell and I can't seem to stay on top of anything now, and I didn't feel anxious every time I think about my husband going out of town even for a short trip. But let's get back to all that happy stuff. Here are 10 things that I love about him being home.

1.Hugs and kisses. Oh it's good to get a hug when I'm tired and have been busy all day.

2. Falling asleep next to him. After a year of difficulty sleeping, I fall asleep within seconds if I lie on my side, holding his hand with my head on his shoulder. Just thinking about that makes my heart rate quickly drop.

3. Laughing with him. He has brought so much lighthearted fun back to our home. I love how silly he can be and how much more laughter there is here when he is here. Boys, no matter how big they are, are still fun little boys.

4. His smile. Obviously he is very tired still. Sometimes when he sneaks into our room to lie down for a few minutes, if I suddenly appear right up against him on the bed, trying to curl up with him, he gets the best "What are you up to little girl?" smile on his face that totally delights me. I missed that smile. I did see it a few times on Skype but it's much better to see it multiple times a day when he sees me shimmying up to him with a big smile on my face wherever he might be.

5. Parenting backup. Hooray for someone else in the house who can say, "Yes, young lady you ARE going to get up off the floor and go brush your teeth, NOW." I got so tired of what began to feel like nagging monologues trying to cajole our little one to get up, get dressed, to get hair and teeth brushed and every other little event that needed to happen throughout the day. Yay for some help!

6. Another adult in the front seats. I love being driven around instead of doing all the driving. When we do take my car, I love having someone in the passenger seat. It has been empty for SO long! Car conversation that achieves heights grander than early grade school are divine. Oh yes, please!

7. Seeing my cell phone "Recent Calls" list almost totally filled with his name. No more of that long distance communication, at least for a while.

8. Having him check up on me. I covered this topic here. This makes me so happy!

9. Early morning conversations. One of my favorite things is us both waking up in the middle of the night and having a great conversation. I don't get how this happens, but it's when we have some of our best talks. I think it's because we're relaxed and we're too tired to be anything but authentic. Last week it was 2:00-3:00 AM. Silly, but lovely.

10. Date night. Last weekend we went out for our first date night. It was romantic and gorgeous and lovely. It felt so good to reconnect as "just us." Not the us who run a household, who need to run errands, who are parents, but the us that met and started dating a few years ago. It's nice to have a boyfriend again!

I could go on and on, there are so many things to be completely thrilled about with him home again. It's amazing, thrilling and interesting. What have been your favorite things about ending deployment and having your partner in life at home again?