Tuesday, April 9, 2019

It's Going To Be A Little Rough For The Next Few Weeks...


Yesterday was a rough day. Lisa left for work around 5:45 a.m. and didn't get home until after 8:00 p.m. She had warned me that Mondays were going to be long days. We didn't eat dinner until close to 9. I made homemade blueberry pancakes. While eating dinner, she let me know that the rest of the week and next week was looking about the same. Lisa stayed up for about an hour to let her food settle. I tucked her and the kids into bed around 10.

I sat on the sofa for a little bit with a mild sense of panic. Over the years, Lisa has worked many days when she didn't get home until after dinner. However, not this late.

I was not prepared for Lisa to be working such long hours all week. My brain started spinning like a hamster wheel.

I would need to revise our dinner menu because eating homemade meatballs or tacos well beyond our usual dinnertime would not work for either of us.

We typically eat dinner between 4-5 p.m.

I would need to pack extra snacks in her lunch.

I would need to make sure she had a bigger breakfast because that would have to hold her until her late lunch.

I would need to make sure that everything was done by the time Lisa got home. That included laundry and trash.

I would need to alter my schedule. If Lisa wasn't going to get home until after dinner, I could extend my work day and plan on a later meal prep time for us.

I knew that Lisa would be exhausted by the weekend. I wanted to make sure that everything was done on Friday so she could spend Saturday resting.

More so, I knew our kids would have a really hard time this week. They are used to Lisa being home around a certain time. When she's very late coming home, their routine is broken and they get worried.

Yesterday, as expected, the kids started reacting to Lisa's absence around 6 p.m. Coco paced and panted. He got so worked up that he vomited the snack he had just eaten. Sophie was restless and moved from doggy bed to doggy bed. Willa grabbed several of my PostIt Notes from the table and shredded them. Lobo barked and whined at every little thing.

And, all of the kids refused to eat dinner because Lisa is the one to serve their meals. 

I haven't seen them act this way since the last time Lisa went on an overnight trip to New Hampshire.

It broke my heart.

They know when something is off. They don't do well when their routine is greatly altered.

I know the same thing is going to happen today and through the rest of the week.

They're all going to give me those looks of, "Where is our other Mommy?"

It tugs at my heartstrings.

I sat on the sofa with all of the kids before Lisa got home yesterday.

I explained that it was going to be a little rough for the next few weeks. Maybe longer.

It would be tough on all of us, but we would get through it. Together. As a family.

I'm sure with extra snacks and snuggles, they'll slowly adjust.




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