Mother's Day

You know you're not single anymore...when Mother's Day takes on a totally different meaning...you recognize and deeply appreciate what your wife does for the family each and every day without recognition or reward...you know that she has had to take on several roles and added responsibilities to raise two children as a single mom for several years...and now you are grateful that she brings the same energy into your marriage...you don't know how she does it...you know she sacrifices her dreams and desires to meet the needs of your family...and through her example, you remember how your own mother was a single mom for your first years of life and you have a deeper appreciation what she went through and all the times she put up with you growing up...you are in awe of these women in your life and you want them to know how much you love them.

Secret Midnight Meals

You know you're not single anymore...when you try to solve the mystery of the vanishing cereal...almost every day of your adult life you have had cereal for breakfast...yet there are times you knew there was plenty of cereal left from the day before, but today the box is pretty much empty today...it's strange because you know what the kids have eaten for breakfast that day since they tell you in casual conversation...so where does the cereal go?...After weeks of this occurrence, you finally find out the truth...you find an empty bowl in the sink the next morning after you know everyone has gone to bed...a few questions later, you discover that your wife and daughter both have a tendency to get up late at night and eat a bowl of cereal (who does that?)....you then find out that your son eats cereal as a midday snack...you think breakfast cereal was designed for the morning and it never had occurred to you that your family thinks breakfast is a 24 hour meal!

Calendar

You know you're not single anymore...when you have to plan your calendar almost a year in advanced...between birthdays, school holidays, retreats, and family events, you quickly realize that there's not much down time in the year...you start to think that you'll start to catch up on sleep the day after your youngest child's graduation...in the midst of the planning you find yourself getting a little annoyed why others have not planned ahead..."Why don't we know the dates of the work Christmas party yet?  It's already May!"...Yet, you also realize that life never goes as planned and in general you decide to ride the river of life out and not sweat the small stuff!

New Rules

You know you're not single anymore...when you create some new family rules...such as guys will always open doors for the ladies...You want your son to get used to treating women in his life with honor and respect...and your daughter to get used to and expect to receive respect from guys...Now, every time we get out of the car, the ladies wait patiently for your son or yourself to come open their door...and when going into the car they wait for the guy to open it before entering...it takes an extra moment but it's worth the time to communicate those values to the kids.

Lake Swimming

You know you're not single anymore...when your son asks you if there's a place to go swimming in town...you know it's too early in the season for most pools to be open...and the County indoor pool is closed for most of the weekend...in fact, the weekend comes and goes and you're not able to find a place to go swimming...however in the middle of work on Monday you remember a neighborhood that surrounds a local lake...so after some phone calls and after ball practice, you surprise your son with the opportunity to go swimming in a lake that evening...Fortunately there are plenty of dock lights and your wife reminds you to watch out for snakes!....Eeek!...You are reminded there's a little bit of Huckleberry Finn in this adventure (but with proper swimwear!)...But it was worth it when your son thanks you later that night for having the best time ever!

Nails

You know you're not single anymore...when you look over to the passenger seat of your car on your way to church and you see your wife doing her nails...You think, "I've never seen you do that before!"...but quickly you are no longer a spectator but become part of the process...."Can you hold the bottle for me?" your wife asks....immediately your son interjects, "Oh mom, please don't do your nails now!"....Too late and you see why he jumped in for the fumes of the polish have quickly overtaken the car...you lower the windows for some fresh air and your daughter starts to complain that the air is too cold...by the time you get to church your wife has perfect nails and the rest of the family is high on the fumes!