And the Countdown Begins…
I have my kids all year long, no break unless I hire a babysitter, they’re in school, or have a playdate or sleepover. And I don’t complain. But for a few weeks every summer, they go visit their father and grandparents, and then I get my break.
My kids are leaving on Tuesday evening for about 3 1/2 weeks with their father and his family. I get a long break this year.
Generally, by the time school gets out, I’m almost ready for them to go. And by the time we’re a couple of weeks into summer, I’m completely ready. This year, school got out later than usual, and we had no camp activities scheduled to occupy them. In other words, they’ve been around 24/7 except for a few sleepovers. And surprisingly, they haven’t been driving me completely crazy, despite having their friends over regularly and my house being wrecked on a regular basis. In fact at this point, I’m planning on cleaning it after they leave.
In the past week, I haven’t felt ready for them to leave. They must have felt this since this weekend they have been trying their best to drive me crazy. Of course, it’s not working. I think they’re trying to help my adjustment. So sweet.
The day after they leave is my birthday. I’ll be 29 again. Or wait, I’ll be 35 again. Whatever it is, I’ll be a year older. Anyhow, my daughter decided today was the day we were celebrating. This afternoon, she changed her name in my cell phone to that of my best friend. Then she texted me asking what my favorite food was. That clued me in and I looked at the number and told her she was busted. Mind you, the last name she had on my phone was Goofy Girl, and that was after she changed her name to Unknown so when she called or texted me it came up as Unknown. Now I’ve changed it to Silly Girl.
Anyhow, my Silly Girl made a chicken pot pie from the freezer, saying it was for herself. She served it to me with a glass of lemonade, after moving a small table into the living room in front of the couch where I was sitting. She also presented me with a homemade card and a new tube of lipstick, wrapped prettily. It was all incredibly sweet – I was sure she wanted me not to want her to go. Of course that was until later, when she ran me ragged and then wouldn’t go to sleep.
So I’m down to a day and a half before they leave and nothing is packed. Not only is it not packed, but I have a ton of laundry (all clean) to sort through and fold. I guess that will make it easier to pack them. And then before I can blink, I’ll be driving them to the airport and putting them on an airplane to fly across the country. Yes, I’m still ambivalent about them leaving, for the first time ever.
If you talk to me in 3 days, I’ll be missing them terribly and won’t be sure of what to do with myself. If you talk to me in 3 weeks, I’ll be having a great time and not ready for them to come back. We do this every year. But this year they have Oovoo and Skype on their phones, which will encourage them to call me more, because they think video chatting is so cool. Gotta love technology!
Live, love, laugh…it makes it all worthwhile!
Marjorie Writes... 