Last week was tough. It's a delicate balance parenting without a partner. The daily routine is exhausting even when all goes well:
6:00 - (or 5:30 if you're really good) Shower, get dressed, make the lunches, set up breakfast before the kids wake up.
6:30 - Wake up the kids (delicately, as slowly as necessary to make them believe that they are really ready to get up), help them get dressed, cajole them downstairs
6:50 - (or 7, if things aren't going so well) Breakfast, finish any homework we forgot to do last night
7:10 - Wash dishes, pack back packs, brush hair, brush teeth, put on shoes
7:25 - load up car and leave for school, drop Jasper at corner of 32nd and Bunker Hill to walk up to school.
7:45 - Meet Pepe at Two Rivers to pass off Josie, park car, five hugs and kisses goodbye. Pepe drives Josie to Northeast Stars Montessori for an 8 am start. I haul ass for an 8 am start.
PM
4:45 - Leave Two Rivers, hopefully with a classroom that is ready to go in the morning.
5:00 - pick up Josie
5:30 - Pick up Jasper from Joe's Movement Emporium and head home (unless it is soccer night, in which case we wolf down sandwiches in the car and rush to the field for a 6 pm practice).
5:45 - Assemble/ cook dinner, unpack lunches, set table
6:00 - Eat, talk about our day
6:30 - Start dishes, unpack lunch boxes, put away food
6:45 - Bath, teeth, hair
7:00 - Books, songs, lights out by 7:30
7:30 - Finish dishes, clean up, put out recycling/ trash if appropriate
8:00 - Start on school work
9:30 - 11:30 - Collapse
And that's if all goes well.
Last week, we got lice. Layered on to this routine were hours of hair washing, nit picking, and laundry. The kids seem clear for the moment, but my head still itches and I have no one to check my scalp, needless to say pick through my hair with a fine toothed comb. I practically gave up on school work, resorting to survival mode and "winging it." On Friday Jasper came down with a fever, probably a result of his sinuses being chronically congested, but thankfully dad took him for the day. It was a miracle we made it to the weekend.
Then yesterday I lost my mind. As we were heading home from my folks' place I saw a sign for "kitten adoption noon to 3" at Petco. I swerved over and parked in the private lot, rushing into the store because it was already 3:10. "Where are we going, Mama?" the kids asked. "Do you want a cat?" I replied. One hour later we came out of the store with "Jasmine," a two year old house trained rescue. I am really not sure how I think owning a cat will help things... I guess I am needing some love. And the mice )and the lice and the dishes) are driving me crazy.
She's settled right in, and it's a three day weekend, so things could work out... But boy do I miss my husband.
14 days to go.
1 comment:
oh, you. sending love. you amaze me.
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