This post is a shout out to my husband and children for managing and maintaining in my absence last week. My ego encourages me to believe they can not function without me, but the truth is that they manage quite well.
Of course, they were left with a clean house, all the laundry washed, folded and put away and the refrigerator and freezer well stocked with lots of food complete with a cheat sheet of meal options for breakfast, lunch and dinner to keep them on track. To go astray after being set up to succeed probably wouldn’t have surprised me; however, they did really well.
The boys made it to school every day, they attended their activities (except Trace who is still out with a bum knee), and maintained our normal daily routine.
One of the only hiccup in the week was Wednesday night when the middle school had their back-to-school night that logistically conflicted with the Club Scouts first Den meeting. Vince was conflicted, wanting to see our seventh graders school and classes, yet he knew the only choice was to go to the Den meeting. Overall, not too big of an issue. I visited the classrooms and met all the teachers during Sneak Peak before school. We’re scheduling time for Vince to meet at a later date.
After my 21 hour day on Thursday, Friday morning I fell back into our routine and assumed the morning duty of getting the kids off to school. The older boys barely said hello to me when I woke them up, they each rolled over and lifted their pajama shirt, begging for a back scratch. They do need me!
Our youngest, however, jumped out of bed and ran as fast as he could to hug me and kiss me and tell me how happy he was I was home. He loves his momma.
The boys immediately wanted to know what was for breakfast. Blurry eyed, my response was “uh, cereal?” They proceeded to tell me how Dad made them hot breakfasts every morning. When I asked what he made, our oldest boy said,”we’re not going to tell you Dad’s secrets.” Fine, enjoy your cereal. The only breakfast I was able to find out about was the one Vince boasted about making, hashbrown omelets. I volunteered Vince to make breakfast Friday morning but he hightailed it to his office and let me serve up cereal. On very little sleep, I don’t compete.
That morning, helping get backpacks packed and reviewing homework due on Friday, I realized that Vince skipped the entire week’s worth of spelling homework for our third grader. He claimed he didn’t see it, and Andre didn’t tell him, so no spelling was completed, all week. I did get a little snippy at this point, asking whether or not Vince READ the homework where spelling assignments are clearly outlined. Without reading the homework packet it is difficult to understand what has been assigned. They get to choose their spelling assignment from a list of options – write the words, rainbow words, spelling city, among other options. Andre, realizing that he didn’t do a week’s worth of spelling sent him into tizzy panicking that he’d have to cram that morning. Not having the energy to deal with any of it, I wrote an apologetic note to his teacher begging for forgiveness, explaining my absence and Dad’s confusion. The other two are responsible for their homework for the most part with little parental involvement. Andre still needs to be managed. His logic is that he goes to school six hours a day, five days a week. Why is there homework? Why do you have to do work five days a week, and weekend are only two days? Got me kid, do your homework and change the world.
While away, I take comfort in knowing that life goes on without me. Sure there are logistic issues we can not avoid and moments of delirium, but the male bonding (running around in their underwear, manners flying out the window, and not eating any vegetables) in true Animal House fashion is a good release for them.
Plus, they each realize that they miss me in their own way as I miss them while I am away.
multi-hyphenated-me 