DID it!
The title is in ode to Adelyn, who screetches "Did it!" in a precise impersonation of Danny Lloyd's "Redrum," but without the finger wiggling. Trust me, it's cute, not creepy. OK, it's a little creepy, but very very cute.
Today is Friday, and exactly one week ago, Vincent went on his first business trip in years. To Munich. As in Munich, Germany. For a whole week.
I have always championed my husband's ability to care for the children, much to the chagrin of other moms whose husbands don't do bedtime, or dishes, or vacuuming. Truth is, it is I who hasn't touched a vacuum in something like two years.
Every day at about 5:00, I start walking v e r y s l o w l y by the back door, peering longingly outside for Vincent's car to pull up the street.
"Oh, you want an apple, kids? Let me just s t r o l l into the kitchen and get one."
Anyway, in the week since he's been gone, yes yes of course I went to my mother's, and even left the kids there for a night so I could go grocery shopping and out drinking with my girlfriends. But it has rained every single day, poured actually, and we have been trapped in the house, but amazingly, things have been good. I vacuumed - upstairs and down! I sorted through the kids' art projects (from both daycare and last year at preschool, yes I'm that bad) that have been clogging up their closets. They are labeled, organized and in the attic. And yes, we've been to both McDonald's and the local mom-and-pop Chuck E. Cheese knockoff, but the kids have been asleep no less than an hour earlier than usual, the house is nearly spotless, and we have been watching less TV. Riley has even developed a love for the local public radio show that both my husband and I have been looking forward to the kids being old enough to listen to.
I had a conversation once with an old friend who has said that her husband isn't always terribly helpful, and we concluded that he never really had to be - he travels for work frequently and she has always taken a primary role in caring for the house and children. Vincent has been just the opposite - he has always been around, and I'm completely dependent on him.
Until this week. We survived. Things were great actually, even more restful than usual.
So what does that mean for the future? My self-esteem got a boost, that's for sure. Maybe I won't be pining for the back door to open so much every night - it would be refreshing to stop waiting for my perceived "replacement" and just enjoy the time that is now.
And will my house be cleaner? I hope so. At least I know where to find the vacuum.
Today is Friday, and exactly one week ago, Vincent went on his first business trip in years. To Munich. As in Munich, Germany. For a whole week.
I have always championed my husband's ability to care for the children, much to the chagrin of other moms whose husbands don't do bedtime, or dishes, or vacuuming. Truth is, it is I who hasn't touched a vacuum in something like two years.
Every day at about 5:00, I start walking v e r y s l o w l y by the back door, peering longingly outside for Vincent's car to pull up the street.
"Oh, you want an apple, kids? Let me just s t r o l l into the kitchen and get one."
Anyway, in the week since he's been gone, yes yes of course I went to my mother's, and even left the kids there for a night so I could go grocery shopping and out drinking with my girlfriends. But it has rained every single day, poured actually, and we have been trapped in the house, but amazingly, things have been good. I vacuumed - upstairs and down! I sorted through the kids' art projects (from both daycare and last year at preschool, yes I'm that bad) that have been clogging up their closets. They are labeled, organized and in the attic. And yes, we've been to both McDonald's and the local mom-and-pop Chuck E. Cheese knockoff, but the kids have been asleep no less than an hour earlier than usual, the house is nearly spotless, and we have been watching less TV. Riley has even developed a love for the local public radio show that both my husband and I have been looking forward to the kids being old enough to listen to.
I had a conversation once with an old friend who has said that her husband isn't always terribly helpful, and we concluded that he never really had to be - he travels for work frequently and she has always taken a primary role in caring for the house and children. Vincent has been just the opposite - he has always been around, and I'm completely dependent on him.
Until this week. We survived. Things were great actually, even more restful than usual.
So what does that mean for the future? My self-esteem got a boost, that's for sure. Maybe I won't be pining for the back door to open so much every night - it would be refreshing to stop waiting for my perceived "replacement" and just enjoy the time that is now.
And will my house be cleaner? I hope so. At least I know where to find the vacuum.
posted by Stolidoli at 3:43 PM
1 Comments:
You know, I've have also found that doing it on your own isn't as hard as you think it's going to be. I've been "getting my act together" so-to-speak lately, and have found my house to be a bit more calm, and I'm enjoying my time with my kids a bit more. But I do still hold my breath when I hear a car door slam, hoping it's my husband! ;)
Post a Comment
<< Home