A (Not-so) Funny Thing Happened on the Way Home

To all of my (10) faithful blog fans, I have to apologize. You, who have faithfully checked in on our little life have been let down day after day after day. There is a purpose to my madness and I can finally explain......
I try to be very careful what I put out here, what with all of the bad guys running around these days. Not that I think bad guys really have time to sit down and read a blog to figure these things out, but I'm the girl who sleeps with a cell phone in case a bad guy cuts the phone lines in an attempt to get into my humble abode. So, I'm a little bit of wimp - I'm okay with that.
Scott has been out of town for the last 4 weeks. Yep, 4 weeks. He's been in the booming town of Phillipsburg, Kansas. It's about 4 and a half hours north and west of here. He's faithfully traveled before the sun rises every Monday morning and trekked home every Friday afternoon (on top of putting in full days at the office in Topeka on Saturdays.) He's worn out, I'm worn out, and our kids have separation issues now. This really is nothing new to our life, but it is a hardship and I learn a lot about myself during these times. 2 years ago Terri (Scott's mom) arrived to find all three of us on the couch crying. She kicked me out; fed, bathed and put my kiddos to bed (and had my house picked up) by the time I got back. You know what I did? Sat in a grocery store parking lot. In peace and quiet. Some days you need that and I wasn't strong enough to admit that at that time I really, really needed that. The kids really are very well adjusted and for the most part handle these times very well, but this week especially, they've totally freaked out if I have to leave their sides for even a second. Does this mean I'm responsible for their therapy when they are older?
Last Friday Scott was traveling with 2 of his co-workers along I-70 without realizing that a 21 year old man from Fort Riley (a military guy, nonetheless) had robbed a bank in Topeka and taken the cops on a wild chase down I-70, crashed his car, jumped out of the car and shot at officers and then ran into the woods. This created a major speed bump on the interstate and forced Scott and others to navigate small highways the rest of the way home. It took them 4 hours to get 30 miles. So, what normally takes them 4 and a half hours took almost 9 to get home. The man who created this disaster actually ended up shooting himself in the head and died this week.
There have been stumbling blocks in the last month. We've gotten through them, not without a TON of patience and wisdom and strength, but we made it. So, if you've been blessed by my silence, I'm sorry. If you've missed me, you're in luck. As we readjust our family life, I'll have more time to take pictures, to tell you funny stories, or to bore you with my thoughts! Thanks for sticking in there with us!