I don't know if my perception is off, but it seems like my kids get really whiny when Kent has been gone for a few days. It may just be that he isn't there to balance me out and my nerves get stressed more than usual. Or it may be that they miss him and they get tired of just dealing with me and not having Dad to pal around with. Either way, it's a good thing I had a class last night because I couldn't take the whining and crying anymore. I made the kids eat dinner in silence and raise their hand if they were ready to say something calmly. That was the only way I could think of to keep myself calm too.
Looking back two or three years, the first time Kent was away in Haiti for two weeks, I remember the entire second week being bad this way--and I probably didn't keep myself very calm with the kids. This time, it was only a few hours yesterday afternoon that I felt like letting the kids finish each other off while I hid under the covers. So that's improvement, right? We've really had fun together the rest of the week, and I've gotten a lot of cleaning done at night! I just have to say I am so grateful to not be a single mom. The only way I would ever be in that circumstance is if Kent died, and then at least I would have the insurance money to hire Alice from the Brady Bunch to help me out.
(I miss him!)
6 comments:
I have found the same thing when Peter is out of town. After a couple of days the kids just start to loose it. And, due to no adult support, I am less prepared to handle it. Not a fun combination.
What kind of class are you taking?
I love that you made them raise their hand during dinner time! I find myself to be a better mom when Nate's out of town b/c I have no expectations of getting relief any time soon so that's when I step up and take it on. I suppose when he's almost home, then I do start to lose it. Are you just so excited to have two of my kids tomorrow too?
I'm taking an eight-week CERT class. (Community Emergency Response Team.) It's training for how to respond to a natural disaster or end-of-the-world type emergency. Next week we are putting out practice fires and doing some hands-on first aid, so maybe these are skills I can use at home, though I hope I never have to! Kent tells me one of the last classes is about psychologically dealing with seeing decapitated bodies and deciding who has survivable injuries, and who should be left to die. I hope my guts can handle that one!
I hear ya. I don't like being alone for very long, either. It's just something to have that other adult there to help out/commiserate/etc. I'm glad he's home now, though. I didn't know you were doing the CERT. Good for you. I don't think my pregnant self could handle it. I'm not a fan of the blood...or even talking about it. My imagination has always been too vivid.
Yeah, I'm actually pretty nervous about the blood and gore side of this training. When I was at the cannery a few weeks ago, I saw a sign posted as a warning to be careful around the machinery. It had a drawing of a hand with the fingertips cut off. No blood, just fingers, space, tips...and I felt nauseated.
I almost posted something very similar while Jim was away. Being along for a couple weeks (or hours, hee, hee) really does make you appreciate those that raise their children in single-parent homes. No easy task, that's for sure.
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