Freshly showered off the treadmill, I’m sitting at a T.G.I. Friday’s (on a Monday night).
But Ben, you say, you’ve got a toddler, an infant and a wife. How do you find the time?
Today, I kissed the two-year-old goodbye, said ‘I Love You’ to a napping 3-month-old, and slapped my wife (MY WIFE!) on the ass on my way out the door.
Uncle Sam saw fit to award a 6 month vacation to me and 121 of my closest friends. About thirty days ago, my Army Reserve unit received the notification. I’d tell you why we are mobilizing, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. Most importantly, I’ll be spending these next several winter months in the middle of Wisconsin. The army saw fit to issue us long underwear, both light and heavy weight, and something we refer to as “the Michelin man suit.”
The last time I mobilized, I was a single lieutenant with a couple boxes to throw in storage. My most serious relationships were with the bartenders of the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Things are quite different this time. Two people depend on me for nearly everything, and the baby will catch on quick. (See what I did there?). I worry for my wife. With the two of us, mornings are a struggle to get out the door with potty-time/breakfast/clothes/hair, and evenings fly by with dinner/bath/pajamas/story-time/bed-time and a whole house reset from the day’s activities.
Meanwhile, I’m just 500 miles removed from Western Massachusetts and wondering what waking up without the world’s worst alarm clock will feel like.
As my boss put it:
Life will be simpler.
Maybe not less busy, but a bit more straightforward without my ladies. I miss them already.
Ben Sloot 
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