Life As A Fire Wife

Yesterday I wore my firefighter pants. Usually this is no big deal, I wear them all the time. I love my big comfy black pants that say firefighter down one leg. Although I loved these pants the second my firefighter got them for me, I thought it was a bit silly to wear them because after all, I am not the firefighter, my hubby is. I thought it would be far more appropriate for my pants to say fire wife. But alas, they are sweatpants so I pulled an Elsa, Let it go, and wore the pants, because I adore sweatpants. And wore them I did. I wear these pants often. I actually cut back on wearing them this year because as I tried to talk my boys into wearing something other than gym pants, I realized that my argument wasn’t very convincing as I stood there in sweat pants.

But yesterday morning, I got out of bed, and LIKE A BOSS, I put on my firefighter sweatpants and realized that although my hubby holds the title of firefighter and goes to emergencies at work, I am the one at home putting out the “fires.” 3 Nor’easters in less than 2 weeks, (I don’t even know if yesterday was a blizzard or not as we lost power for about 12 hours), means that there has been a lot of over time at the station. A lot of over time at the station means that majority of home life falls on my shoulders. And yesterday I put on my firefighter pants proudly because when hubby told me he took the 24 for the storm, I didn’t even have a temper tantrum. That’s right, I rolled with it. Sure I was sad. I don’t enjoy weathering the storms without my man. But weathering actual storms without my man is a lot different that weathering life’s storms without my man, and thank you God, that I don’t have to weather those kinds of storms alone.

You might be wondering what kind of fires I am putting out at home. KEEPING 3 SMALL HUMANS ALIVE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS. Not to mention the job of keeping my sanity, another very serious job. We are currently on week 3 of concussion recovery here. So I basically spend a lot of time reminding middle child that he has a concussion… It goes something like this, “please don’t climb on that chair, you have a concussion.” “No you can’t go play basketball, you have a concussion.” “You need to go to bed early, you have a concussion.” “Sorry no sledding, you have a concussion.” “CHILD, DID YOU HEAR A WORD THE DOCTOR SAID? YOU HAVE A CONCUSSION!!!” I am also still checking on 3rd child’s bowel movements daily since the constipation/vomiting craziness that occurred a few months back(see Life is so Daily post). And then there is child one who wants to back hand spring off of concrete onto concrete, Lord have mercy! I AM NOT SUPERWOMAN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

Keeping 3 small humans alive is exhausting. It involves more than I could have ever dreamed or imagined. And I’m not just trying to do this job, I’m trying to not suck at it. As I’ve looked around the world around me whether it be on social media, through conversations with actual people, or by observation, I realize that a big goal is to raise small humans to be caring, compassionate, and competent members of society. How does one do this? Honestly! Lots of prayer, that’s for sure. I’ve had to take a step back and examine our lives. With my firefighter’s schedule and my boys growing to be almost as tall as me, I figured it is time to delegate responsibilities so not so much falls on my shoulders. It may take more time out of my day to sit with my six year old so he can pack his lunch, but if I do it now, maybe he will be doing this independently soon. The floor may not get swept perfectly by my eight year old, but he is learning to help and contribute. For a ten year old, taking out the recycling and replacing the bag is a pretty straight forward job.

So yesterday, when I wanted to be snuggling up with my firefighter watching the snow fall outside, instead I got to snuggle up in my firefighter pants with my 3 small humans, knowing that my husband and I have a partnership in our marriage. Will there ever be a storm that he is home for? Maybe not. But I have no doubt during these winter storms in New England that if I need him, he will be here, and in a big truck to boot. He’s got his gear on at work and I’ve got mine on at home. Now all I need is a shiny red truck =)