Wow. It has been one heck of a time in my household. We've gotten into the swing of the school stuff (at least, I'm pretty sure we have) and were cruising along quite nicely.
Then my husband had to go away for training for his job. In Des Moines, Iowa (which is several states away from where I live). For a WEEK.
For those of you who have spouses that travel on a regular basis, more power to you. I extol your virtues. I had no virtues last week; my week was crazed. And as an aside, I don't know how single parents do it, either. Six days was enough for me.
My husband left on a Sunday morning before church and returned very late Friday evening. The house wasn't the same without him. We had to adjust our daily routines a bit; my mother-in-law was here at the house to make sure my daughter got off the bus okay and didn't have to wait in an empty house until I got home. (My husband is usually home when she gets home.) Call me paranoid, but things happen.
During the week, I'll admit, I was tired. Mainly because I wasn't sleeping well. I was paranoid that someone would try to break in so I put strings of bells on all of my doors and added to my fervent prayers for safety and protection each night. (Not that I live in a dangerous neighborhood; in fact it's pretty quiet. It's just that, well, things happen.) I used to put bells on the doors when the kids were little to alert me to any "wandering" that might occur. That helped ease my mind a bit. Besides that, the kids wanted to sleep with me in my room. We did that last time my husband went out of town (four years ago!). But in all, the kids slept well. Me, not so much. Between listening for the bells and extracting little legs, arms, and feet from various points on my body each night then teaching my class of 19 during the day, I was wiped out by the time Friday rolled around.
I hadn't realized just how much I depend on my husband for the daily workings of the house. We have the household chores pretty well divided and it was a bit overwhelming to try and do them all during the week in between homework, grading papers, instrument practice, etc. The kids helped out where they could, but they had their own chores to do. I think we did a pretty good job, but truth be told, I'm glad to have my own chore list back. I can say the experience has made me appreciate my husband more.
The experience was also a bit humbling for me. I'm so used to what I perceive to be all of the "stuff" I need to do for my household. You know, or else it will fall apart without me--despite the contributions everyone else makes to said household. Ahh, yes. The good ol' Supermom Complex. I think God knocked me down a few pegs to help me see that I'm not as "super" as I might have thought I was.
I'm getting back into the groove of things. We all are. The crazy is gone, I learned about myself, and my husband is back.
Life is good.
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