Thursday, February 21, 2008

A Week of Single-Parenting


My husband left last Saturday for a business trip to Las Vegas and remains there due to the terrible weather we are having here in St. Louis. His consecutive-day absences are always eye-opening for me. Although I feel like I pretty much do everything around here when it comes to taking care of the girls...when he is gone I feel the FULL weight of parenthood. I think what really gets me is when the long days are over and the evenings come to an end, the girls are tucked into bed and I'm locking up house for the night. It dawns on me that the only thing between them and danger of any kind (burglar, fire, whatever) is me and me alone.

So instead of being just mommy the house cleaner, mommy the cook, mommy the bed tucker...now I also have to be mommy "the protector"! Because my hubby is usually here at night (and usually goes to bed after me) I don't have to give a second thought about whether each door and window is locked and whether each and every appliance is safely turned off (not that he actually does this but when he's here we share the burden of consequence). This may not seem big - but when you're on your own, it FEELS big. I have great respect for the mom's that do this alone on a full-time basis. My own mother being one of them.

Anyway, the girls are really missing daddy and we are ready for him to come home to us. However, I did not miss the snoring from the pillow next to mine and I cherished the sole ownership of the remote control for the last week but I am more than ready to give up my super hero cape and fling it back upon my husband's shoulders. So, honey, maybe you have a bigger role here in taking care of the girls than I realized. Who knew?

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