momAgenda Blog

How Do You Do It When You Are On Your Own?

February 5, 2010 7:44 AM

We have a tradition in our family: every time one of the kids turns 10, they get a trip, ALONE, with their Dad. They get to choose the location, and as long as it is within the continental U.S., it's ok with hubby. When Andrew turned 10 he chose Disney World, and when it was Jenna's turn, she chose Atlantis (in the Bahamas). Well Matt turned 10 this week, and those of you who know him personally or have heard my stories about him will not be surprised at his choice: THE SUPERBOWL.

Long story short, they just left for a long weekend in Miami, leaving me here with the other 3 kids. It got me thinking about how my systems tend to fall apart when hubby is not around. Even though he usually is at work from 7:00 am to about 8 pm, he is really pretty helpful (I guess everything is relative). For example, he normally drives the older kids to school on his way to work. Today, since he was not here, I got stuck doing that... which means getting up earlier, and getting 6-year-old Jamie out of bed and dressed about an hour earlier than he is used to, and listening to him whine about not being able to play with his cars. Then again, it wasn't so bad once we got going; Jamie sang us his hilarious rendition of "Pants on the Ground" which basically made it worth all the aggravation.

Tonight is going to be disaster without hubby around; Jamie has soccer, Jenna has a dance and 2 friends sleeping over, Andrew is going to a Knicks game, and I am going to be a complete stress case driving around in the snowstorm that is heading our way. Worst of all Andrew gets picked up at 10:30 pm, a pickup time that would normally have hubby's name written all over it.

All this makes me realize I would be a disaster of a single mom, so it's a good thing we are happily married. And it makes me grateful I have a partner who is willing to help out during the limited amount of time he is actually in our vicinity.

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