NYC - the city that stole my husband

I've been keeping something from you all. I'm pregnant! Just kidding, you already knew that. Another thing. I have been living alone all summer. I'm guessing you can understand why I wouldn't share that on the blog (or really any social media). But, let me back up.

From the Statue of Liberty looking back at Manhattan

My husband, Eric, started his MBA full-time last fall. It was definitely a big decision to make, but we both felt confident it was the right time and perfect opportunity (I work full-time, no kids, good scholarships, etc). So back to school he went. It was a crazy fall because he was still working for his previous company 20hrs a week (most people in the program didn't work) and we were both so busy. The spring semester was a little better, but we knew the summer would look a little different because each MBA student is expected to do an internship of some sort.

Eric's school has a summer scholarship program in a few different places, one of them being NYC. Students who get into the program are provided with housing, transportation and a stipend while working at an internship and taking 1-2 classes over the course of the summer.

We talked very seriously about what the summer would look like before Eric even applied... we knew it would be really tough (we both share a love language of "quality time") and we also knew it was possible that we would be expecting a baby by that point. Still, we both felt like the Lord was telling us that Eric should apply, and well, he got in.

So. He moved to NYC at the end of May. Actually, the NYC trip I shared about was when we both flew up to the city to get him settled in. Obviously, we did lots of fun NYC things, but what you didn't see was our little trip to IKEA to buy Eric bedding, plates, etc and me flying back to Oklahoma alone with tears in my eyes.

The first week was really hard, I think mostly because I did not make myself spend time with people and stay busy. After that initial week, it was a lot easier. I made lots of plans with friends, I did some craft projects, I took weekend trips, Winston and I went on a lot of walks... I just stayed busy. Actually, there were a few great things that came out of it:

• I spent more time with my family than I usually would have during the summer. I live about 45min away from my family, so Eric and I usually visit them together. It was nice to revert back to childhood in a way and spend time hanging out with my siblings. 
• I recognized friendship in a totally different way. I had friends reach out to me all summer - from everything to "let's hang out tonight," to a little birthday party, to just a text to ask how I was doing. I even had a friend drive down with her 2 month old baby to spend a whole weekend with me. I felt very loved and cared for by a lot of people.
• I rediscovered "alone time." Some people hate being alone. I have never been one of them. But when you are married, alone time kind of becomes "spouse time." It was nice to have (forced) time to myself to pray, dream and think. That's just so important and it has been easy for me to skip it in the past. 

Eating a mac & cheese sampler at s'mac

So, some great things came of it, but it was really hard. I love Eric. So much. So being away from him for 12ish weeks wasn't overall an enjoyable thing. But if I had to do it over again, I would. Eric had a great experience in NYC (though he was SO READY to come home) and it was a lot of fun to visit him twice (the pictures in this post are when I visited him a second time in July). I never let myself get to a bad place where I felt mopey or sorry for myself. I mean, that would be ridiculous considering there are women out there who send their husbands to Afghanistan for a year and take care of their multiple children alone (those women are literally heroes). I just spent a measly summer away from husband. I prayed a lot against loneliness this summer, and the Lord was so faithful to me. I was also so thankful to have felt great throughout this pregnancy. I think if I had been at home puking while Eric had been gallivanting in NYC, that would have been rough.

Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge

I alluded to my weird summer a couple of times on the blog (anyone notice a lot of tripod pictures? and when I mentioned not seeing fireworks - I was in NYC and we didn't want to hold a spot in the grass for 5hrs). But, I'm sure you can understand why I didn't want to advertise it on the blog.

The High Line Park.

I picked Eric up from the airport for good this past Saturday. To be honest, I haven't stopped smiling since (I'm smiling as I type this!). I almost didn't realize how much I missed him (almost), so him being home has been such a giddy feeling.

Absolutely amazing seeing the Phantom of the Opera in NYC.

I know that was long, so congratulations if you made it this far :) I wanted to share a little bit of my heart with you today. Thanks for reading!