Nate has been away on business for two nights and three days. Big whoop, right? Well, I'm a big wuss. When he is away, I morph into an eleven year old, which isn't so great for the kids. They already have an eleven year old brother, they don't need a pre-teen mother too. "How?" you ask.
Let's start at the beginning of the day and take a walk through. When Nate is gone, we sleep in until the last possible minute. On a regular week day, when he is home, I'm up at 5:30 and off for a morning run by 6. When Nate is gone, I don't feel like it would be very responsible to leave my children here all alone, while I am off pounding the pavement at the butt-crack of dawn. Yes, even as my eleven year old self, I retain a tiny bit of responsibility. I'll take all the extra sleep I can get, so I set the alarm for seven and the school kids get a very short 40 minutes to get ready for the bus. I just want to take a moment of silence in honor of the bus. (please join me in this display of gratitude) The bus has changed our mornings from absolute chaos, to serene calm. Ok, maybe not serene calm, but it is much better than when I used to drive them myself.
I am so sidetracked.
While Nate dines on the finest steaks and chicken strips (don't ask) with his business companions, we continue with the eleven year old trend. What fine things do I serve to my children while their father is away? We order pizza or eat mac and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches or pop corn for supper. Easy is in, healthy is out. Shame on me, but WHATEVER!, I'm eleven. Lazy? I know you are but what am I?
My true inner eleven year old makes herself fully known at the end of the day. The kids are tucked in, and I am freaking out. If you haven't figured it out by now, I am deathly afraid of axe murderers. When I'm home alone, I avoid going to bed and I stay up late into the night, killing time and delaying a reasonable bedtime by more than a couple hours. Chicken? Yes. Yellow bellied? Yep. Scaredy cat? That's me. At least I'm owning up to it. When I finally do drag myself to bed, I leave on lights, turn on music, and sleep with the phone on my pillow. These nights are the only nights that I wish we had a dog. No, I take that back. I think it would send me into orbit to hear the dog growling at the axe murderer coming through the back door. Ignorance is bliss, right?
Nate will be back this evening and I am thrilled. Of course because I love him and missed him, but mostly because I want to be twenty nine again. I want to eat real meals, go to bed at a decent hour, and have an extra pair of arms to hold Little Miss Teething Baby. Or maybe I should call her by her other name, Little Miss Velcro Baby. My friend Gretchen over at Lifenut, just survived nine days without her husband. Only, he was gone for a whole different reason. A very generous reason. I don't know what I'm whining about, Nate was only gone for two nights. I think of the widows and the single moms out there and I am completely humbled.
But it doesn't stop me from stomping my feet and sulking about Mr. Business Traveler and his five pillow bed, and breakfasts at Starbucks. Wahhhh, caramel Macchiato.
18 comments:
My husband travels for his job. I have quit asking him "Where are you eating tonight?" Always at one of my favorites that we don't even have in my 2-star town, and I am ALL ABOUT mac and cheese and frozen pizza for the kids! If he's gone for more than 4 days we have a fruit salad one night -- with our frozen pizza -- just to make sure we still can identify fresh produce. I don't think I'm afraid of axe murderers, but I hate going to bed by myself, so I stay up way too late, also. And no bus at my house. Just grouchy me driving grouchy kids to school. It's all good.
This sounds just like our house when my husband is gone. Thanks for the laugh!
Oh, yeah... you are so me... or I am so you, or something like that, but I can NOT sleep when hubby is gone, and I love to eat kiddy junk food while he is gone ... and my son is only 5 months old. hehehe!
All eleven year olds like sleepovers. You should have a sleepover when he's gone. I'll come if my hubby is gone. I'm the exact same.
I can't muster the effort to make a meal they are all going to complain about. At least when he's home I have one person on my side. Mac and cheese, fish sticks, whatever they'll eat.
And I can't sleep. You'd think it would be better without him snoring but, all those axe murderers are just waiting for the man of the house to leave...
At least he's home tonight. Hope you get some good love and sleep.
I can't sleep by myself either! I always stay up waaaay too late when my DH is gone.
I used to be exactly the same! I must be cured, either that, or dh never leaves home, lol. I'll find out if he ever goes on a business trip again.
your too funny! i am not lucky enough for josh to ever leave haha. i think though i'd bring the whole gang to bed with me!
Ah yes, joining you in that moment of grateful silence in honor of the bus....
You make me laugh so hard, Heth--you rock!
Eric travels too, but (I hope he isn't read this) I LOVE it now! lol!!!! Seriously, I do absolutely NOTHING around the house when he is away (well, that is till the day he is returning home, then I scramble to get it all done). The kids and I eat McD's or order pizza, we watch movies, I stay up way to late playing WoW. I get the whole bed to myself...It used to bug me when I was working full time and he'd travel, but not anymore.
Wow, that just sounds awful, doesn't it? I almost sound like I'm begging Eric to go on another trip. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe our marriage has reached that point like my parents'. I remember Mom kind of celebrating when Dad would go to Canada. It was like they needed a break from each other. She would even let us sleep with her in her bed. I'm not that nice LOL! I do let the kids camp out in the living room though...
I love my hubby, but when he goes away I definitely have fun being a total SLACKER.
Still stifling the giggles so I don't wake up the rest of my sleeping household, but that is so me when my DP isn't home. We've been known to eat cereal for all meals and stay up REAL late so the mama doesn't have to be lonely. I am totally there with ya'!
I hate being home alone. I hear weird things that aren't there...
Ugh! I SO understand what you mean about Axe Murderers! I rarely get any sleep if Mike's gone.
Heather---we ate delivered pizza, McDonald's, Mac and Cheese, and at restaurants. The fanciest I got was spaghetti.
I am the opposite of you regarding bedtime, though. I was asleep by 8pm most nights, right after the kids were in bed. And normally the dog irritates me, but I was glad to have her on patrol while hubby was gone.
sounds like a fun party heth!
LOL, I am the same way when my dh is gone. I like the freedom to be lazy and immature for awhile, but I'm terrified of the dark when dh isn't here.
You are hilariously funny!
My husband has traveled for years...and I, too, was scared a night or two (years!). It will get better as your kids get older! Soon, you will resent the time when eveyone is always around you! Just teasing-- a little.
Diane
Wow! You just reminded me how I get when hubby leaves! Which is happening on Sunday! AAAAAH! And I do have a dog, outside, that barks non-stop when He's gone! Even more so at night! Will you come sleep over please?
I sleep with the Bible and the phone in my bed when my honey's gone.
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