Day 6

Today is day 6 of Mike’s 17 day trip.

But who is counting?!

Two and a half weeks seems like a long time. But it’s actually going really quickly. Day 3 was really rough as I recall, but now that seems like ages ago.  I’ve learned in the past that it’s best for me to stay busy when Mike is traveling. So I started filling my calendar weeks before he left with various meetings and fun outings and play dates and self-dates and you get the idea. Basically anything that can get us out of the house doing something works. And I’ve already had SO many people help me out, which I couldn’t be more thankful for!  I’m not afraid to ask for help and in this situation, I felt it was best to carry-out a preemptive strike on the I’m-going-CA-RAAAAZY-alone-with-these-two-kids-alone-by-myself-for-two-and-a-half-weeks syndrome (which was certain to show up eventually if I tried to suck it up and do this all by myself) and just ask for help from the get-go, even before I felt like I needed it. I’m hoping that I can then prevent that awful syndrome from ever rearing it’s ugly head. So far, my preventative strategies have worked!

If there is one thing I love about Mike being gone, it’s that I have extra time to hang out with people that I love. And I love people! We are having fun. We are so SO rich in relationships! And I’ve been a (mostly) good Mommy. There have been a couple rough patches with my children (someday they’ll just sit and eat what’s on their plate without a thousand reminders, scoldings, and trips to the window to “See! See!”, right? See what, don’t ask me. All I know is that her passion to “See!” tacks at least another five minutes to meal-time and it gets peanut butter all over everything.)

Ugh.

What was I saying?

Right.

Oh yes, we’re fine on day six (if a little scatterbrained), but don’t get me wrong… my job is NOT easy. Being a Mommy is hard work. Like, really REALLY hard work. I don’t know how single Moms do it. Or military wives. I’d take my proverbial hat off to you, but then you’d see my greasy hair that I haven’t had a chance to wash cause I’ve been too busy seeing friends and hauling my children along on every errand I have on my list. Ha!

In any case, we do miss our hubby and our daddy. But there are some positive things about him being gone. Here’s a few.

1. Time for friends. Lots of friends! (I already said that, but I felt it earned a place in the formal list.)

2. I stopped cooking. Peanut butter on a spoon for everyone, for every meal. Seriously.

3. I stopped cleaning.

A. No more picking up toys. I’m not about to waste energy trying to get the kids to pick up toys and then just end up doing it myself while getting angry with them and simultaneously giving myself a guilt trip about how I should teach them better to pick up toys. I’m just a-gonna leave ‘em laying all around the house all day and all week. I don’t care. (Mikey has probably begun to have breathing problems just reading this #3, God love him and his love for neatness and order.)

B. Many less dishes. I’m not cooking much so there are many less dishes to wash. But I cut it down even further and went out and bought a big pack of paper plates. I have a small twinge of guilt each time I toss two or three in the trash after another meal of peanut-butter-on-a-spoon, cheese cubes, cutie wedges and crackers (mother of the year here, eh?!), but then I decided to plant a tree somewhere someday and that took care of that. A girl’s gotta survive somehow! And since I can’t do the dishes while Mikey puts the kids to bed (like we normally do) and the children refuse to put themselves to bed while I wash the dishes, then it seemed logical to cut back on the dirty dishes. Problem solved. Sanity maintained.

4. I fall asleep instantly. Once I turn off another episode of Say Yes to the Dress, that is. (The house we’re staying in has Ti-Vo. Can I get a woot woot?!) Nevermind that it only feels like I only had time enough to blink before I hear a little darlin’ yelling “Mommy! Hold you!” at the top of her lungs and I stumble through the dark house to rescue her from her crib at 6:40am.

Whew! We miss you Mikey! Can't wait to have you back with us so everything can be ‘normal’ again. Whatever ‘normal’ is these days.  All I know is that life is better with you in it. And not just cause you put the kids to bed and pick up all the toys…