SOS!!!

There must be something about my cool, calm and collected demeanor that Adam must feel I have things under control or something. Not! The fact that he comes home to a disheveled, stressed, frantic wife who throws her children at him doesn’t seem to raise any flags. Otherwise he would not even consider leaving this state yet again (that would be twice in two weeks) and this time my parents are gone simultaneously! Say what?!?!

The truth is that Adam doesn’t offer much to ease my daily burden except come home at the end of a long day. He definitely doesn’t come home early or clean up the kitchen or anything magical like that. It’s the fact that he comes home, sits at the table with us (most nights), helps get the kids ready for bed and occasionally (only if I’m lucky) has a few minutes to help Drew with him endless amount of homework. And when you are coasting on fumes, you’ll take what you can get! That means I celebrate this minor contribution to our crazy day.

There is something nice in his absence. Everything seems more tidy around the house. There aren’t shoes left by the door, recycling has been promptly taken out, and there is an efficiency to the bedtime routine that doesn’t happen with him around. The best part is that I am able to watch all the girly television I want.

When he first went out of town months ago, I commissioned my mom for round the clock help. I couldn’t even wrap my head around juggling this threesome 24/7. The house seemed eerie without him. The burden of being responsible for these three scoundrels all myself seemed to big to bear. With each time he’s been away, I have been able to manage more and surprise myself on how much I can handle.

The real kick in the boots is the fact that my parents will be gone simultaneously. I’ve gotten to the point that I am able to handle the kids without Adam, and usually without any outside help from my p’s either. But my mom still helps me a ton during the day – shlep someone here, babysit another while I run an errand, and each child has a special time with Grandma that lightens my load. To have a week without her means that I have to do all the shlepping, run all the errands with every child in tow, and never (I repeat NEVER) have a lighter load. At the end of the day, my reward for having survived that now is that I have to manage the entire evening alone too.

The real shocker of the whole situation is that Adam actually trusts leaving these three alone with only me! Maybe I don’t look as disheveled when he comes in than I think I do…or maybe he can’t see past his sleep deprivation and commuter haze to notice. Well, regardless of if I am trustworthy enough to seer this ship, I am the only one stepping up to the plate to do so. Here goes nothing…