I hope I don’t talk about Chad, Nicole and Addie too much but they are such a huge part of my life.
For those of us who are moms, you understand how happy it makes me to see my son happy. He was not happy in his past job but the pay was great and he had a lot of vacation time so he stuck with it. His current job isn’t the dream job either – very hard physical work, not much vacation time but they do work 4 – 10 hour days so he’s off every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On holidays that all on Monday, he gets four days off and that’s almost like a vacation. He so rarely had a weekend off with the former job. With Addie in school and Nicole back to work, they didn’t get to do a lot of things together because they were basically passing each other coming and going but this summer, they’ve been on float trips, gone to visit friends for the weekend, gone to water parks . . I imagine Addie is loving it. On Fridays, she stays home with Chad and the two of them do fun things – she helps him make sausage, they go fishing, they go eat sushi and she’s loving it.
Chad has made more boudin and more sausage.
That’s 30 pounds of summer sausage!
Seeing him smiling and doing things he enjoys — priceless! And even more priceless . . my next trip there, I’ll come home with homemade sausage and boudin!
You may notice . . an added benefit of the hard work he’s doing . . he’s lost a lot of weight!
Janice says
My goodness, the weight loss was the first thing I noticed. He looks really good. The sausage looks great too!lol
Jean says
He looks so happy! As a mom; that’s priceless!
-Jean
Sue Edberg says
First thing I noticed was how good Chad looks. The weight loss is quite noticeable. He is such a handsome man and he looks very happy!
vivoaks says
Yay, Mom! Gotta love it! And yes, he’s looking good!
Linda in NE says
When you mentioned how physical Chad’s job is I thought he might lose some weight & get in better shape. It’s kind of a side benefit. Our son worked some very physical jobs & stayed slim & trim. The last few years he’s worked at Nucor running locomotives in their train yard moving cars of scrap & finished product around. Not as physical and he’s gotten a little soft around the middle. It’s not his dream job either, but they work 12-hr. day or night shifts so there can be 3 or 4 days off in a row. He likes that just like Chad likes his. There’s always trade-offs in any job.
Judy Laquidara says
Yes, trade-offs for any job but I surely like seeing the weight loss and more time with the family.
Nelle Coursey says
Wow he has lost weight! Looks fit and trim! So glad he is able to enjoy Addie while she is growing up. It is a shame when parents that want to be a part of their child’s life have to look at pictures instead of actually being there for their kids!
Judy Laquidara says
Yes! And I think that was part of why he was disliking the hours of the first job more and more. As she got older, he felt more like he was watching her grow up and not actually being a part of the process.
Twyla says
I noticed Chad’s weight loss first thing. I admire their family unit and family lifestyle. I believe he takes after you trying and doing all these things
Judy Laquidara says
I do love seeing him trying and succeeding at new things. There will always be things we think we want to do and then decide they weren’t as fun or rewarding as we thought they would be (making pretty cookies for me!) but you never know til you try so I’m happy seeing him try things he thinks he might enjoy and I hope Addie grows up with that same “can do” spirit.
dezertsuz says
He HAS lost weight. Summer sausage! Now there’s something I love. He is having a great time, and the hours with family make up for a lot.
Rebecca in SoCal says
It’s wonderful that Chad and Addie have days together! It’ll be sad when she’s back in school, and they’ll only have afternoons.
Moneik Stephens says
I just love hearing about Chad, Nicole, and Addie because they remind me so much of our family. My Mathew is Addie’s age and loves to do the fishing, hunting, and hanging outside stuff too. I noticed the weight loss too. My hubby started a new job in Dec. and has lost 26#.
Judy Laquidara says
Congratulations to your husband for the weight loss and the new job. Maybe we should get Matthew and Addie together . . it’s never to soon to start matchmaking! 🙂