Change Is A Good Thing...

At least for us it is.

James has worked nights for the past 7-8 years. That wasn't so bad when it was just him & I, but once Dakota came along it seemed like we hardly ever saw each other. I would get home with Dakota around 4pm, James would be asleep right up until time for him to go to work, so he spent very little time with Dakota. We very seldom ever ate supper together. We literally seemed like two individual people whose lives occasionally crossed paths.

Around the middle of June, Carlisle (James' employer) switched him to a day shift. Needless to say, after working so many years of straight nights, James had a very difficult time transitioning over to a day schedule. He had the most trouble getting into a new sleep pattern/routine. He kept telling me, "I don't know if I can do this, this is about to kill me."

Now, here we are almost 2 months later, and not only is he "alive", but he loves it. We have fallen into a very comfortable routine that is great for a change. I get home with Dakota a little before 4pm. Since James works a 10 hour shift, he works until 5pm and gets home a little before 6pm. He plays with Dakota while I fix supper. Now we eat supper as a "family" & we love it. After supper I clean up the kitchen while James' starts Dakota's bath. When I'm done I go in to assist with the bath. We've never had the opportunity to spend this much time together as a family before, but we're loving it!!!

It just feels great to know that I now have help, that we get to eat as a family, we can actually plan and go places together. Plus with this new schedule James is off most Fridays, so Dakota stays home with him on Friday. They both seem to enjoy their extra time together, and its obviously a good bonding experience for them.

So, change may not always be easy, but it is usually a good thing!!!