Yesterday Steve got back from a ten-day trip to Japan where he was volunteering in the rebuilding effort. This overlapped with me and the kids joining my family at the ranch in Wyoming, so we were actually apart for two weeks. This separation culminated in one of the most uplifting periods of Steve's life (because of Japan, stupid--not because he had a break from me and the kids. Wait. Right? I mean, I am right about that. . . . I think.) Anyway, as I was saying, uplifting for him, not so much for me. I've been alone plenty and Steve works a lot of hours anyway so I'm used to captaining the ship. But this was some'um else. First, no one should ever leave me alone with my children at the end of the summer when I've already had them under foot for two months. It's not safe. I'm no Andrea Yeates, but I'm also no Emily Swensen anymore. No, that pretty awesome mom has been replaced by Mommie Dearest (see above).
So, the timing wasn't great. Then, throw in a major car accident the first day of the two weeks (and the resulting rental car/insurance headaches!), a sprinkler disaster, two remodeled rooms with their contents still not put away, two huge shipments for the shipping business, a family vacation with the necessary hours of whine-driving, a two-day soccer tournament 45 minutes away, several child-meltdowns, the hottest weather of the summer, and one 35th birthday with no husband, and you have the implosion of one formerly sane mother. I think Steve and I should start the kids' therapy fund now.
Any old way, yesterday Steve got home and it was all happy day. Today, we had no phone or internet. Refusing to deal with ONE MORE THING!!!!!, I did nothing about it but just wait till Steve got home late to deal with it. At approximately 11:45 pm, he got around to investigating and calling the phone company. Turns out, if you haven't paid your phone bill in months, they TURN OFF YOUR PHONE! Um...whoops. At least we were able to pay the back balance--there were many times in our marriage we would have been up a crick.
So, the moral of the story is, don't get to thinkin yer jist a leetle crazy the past couple weeks ciz yer husband's been gone. Naw--really YOU E BEEN INSANE FOR MONTHS!!!!
9 comments:
Ah ha ha! Sorry to hear about the craziness... hope things are back to normal now :)
Yup. When does school restart?!However much you love them, however much you enjoy their company, there comes a point when those school summer holidays have really gone on long enough. Their brains need external input. Sanity needs to be restored ......
Hang on in there. Surely it can't be much longer?
Sounds like it's time for some slowing down. :)
Love you Emily, Mommy Dearest or not! We can all relate. This morning in the car Ethan and Graham were recalling how I lost it and smashed one of their bath toys because they always fought over it...NINE years ago! I asked if that's all they remembered about me, was the insane crazy moments. Ethan tried to recover, saying, "Well, you do so many good things that we don't remember all those." NICE! Glad Steve made it home safe and sound and that he had a relatively intact family to come home to.
Emily...I wish I could say that I am any different, but I'm not even going to venture there. I am just hoping that my children are too young to remember "Mommy Dearest". I hope it's nice to have Steve home, even though he has long hours.
I love reading your posts. Keep 'em comin'. Not only is it an uplift for you, but for me too. Glad Steve is back safe. And between a new baby, a husband gone to work, and a chaotic unpacked house, I think I was "mommy dearest" today too...unfortunately.
Why didn't you call for back-up?? I am sorry it was difficult. Glad Steve is home! Maybe a lunch date is in order?? (Or... another night out with babysitters! That's us... btw! on a weekend once school starts!)
LOL. At least you still have your sense of humor, that's proof positive that you haven't completely gone over to the dark side!
And I just spent the entire week at BYU Ed week taking classes such as: Anger management, Subduing Contention, Changing overwhelming habits in yourself, parenting in a Christlike way... well, you get the picture. Hi, my name is Kristin, and I yell at my kids. Constantly. Good news though, there's hope!
Emily, BLESS YOUR LITTLE PEA PICKING HEART! No wonder my kids are so screwed up...I turned into Mommy Dearest after 8 p.m. EVERY night!
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