I spent my first weekend at home by myself this weekend. Well, let's use that term "myself" loosely here . . . what I mean is my husband (aka the Things' daddy) left to go to Toronto this weekend for his cousin's bachelor party. He left Friday at supper time and arrived back last night before the Things went to bed. While it's not that I'm not used to him traveling . . . he traveled for weeks and weeks when Thing 2 was a little wee babe and somehow we made it through that . . . it has certainly been a long time since daddy embarked on his own weekend adventure.
Sans "us".
While I wasn't overly anxious about the whole situation, I harboured some minor fears that at any point things could go very, very wrong. I've been there, done that, and while I do know that every day is an adventure, I am grateful for the days that are not. Thankfully things turned out just fine.
We visited some fabulous friends, ate some Swiss Chalet, logged an inordinate amount of park-time, rolled down a wet hill with our grass-smelling-and-stained-damp clothing, kicked some Indiana Jones' butt on the Wii, burst into an impromptu dance party and became confident we could also kick some butt on "So You Think You Can Dance", devoured endless pancakes (and endless cups of coffee), and played hide and seek in the rain.
To be completely honest, if I learned anything from this weekend it is that the simplest and most basic way to keep your children completely and utterly happy is to spend every single waking minute with them and give them your constant, undying attention.
Obviously this is not feasible long term because as parents we have other responsibilities such as feeding, clothing, and caring for our children. It is also encumbent upon us to provide a decent living space that is clean and rid of filth, to pay bills, earn a living, to ensure the grass miraculously stays below waist-level in our yard, and to carry out a variety of mundane yet crucially important tasks on a daily basis.
But if we didn't have to do these things, and were able to shirk responsibility for a short time just as I was this weekend . . . I'm pretty sure kids around the globe would be happy round the clock.
Kingston, the solar eclipse, a cool bathroom
1 week ago
10 comments:
What a happy picture, Shannon! :) So glad you survived the weekend alone... I will think of you when I panic of being left alone with my two boys for an evening, next time! ;) Seriously, though, it's not always that hard. But it sure does help having that extra person home, doesn't it?
It is so much fun just playing with the kids and being totally involved in the present moment, isn't it?
yay for you!! long distance high five for surviving the weekend!! it sounds like you guys had a wonderful time :)
Sounds like a great time was had by all!
See you on Thursday!
I'm glad to hear you all made it out in one piece.
And that's a fabulous photo. :)
Hear, hear! That's all they want, is our attention. Glad you did more than survive, it sounds like you had a great time!
I took a break from the net this weekend, it was great! That sucks more of my attention from my kids than I like to admit.... :)
Glad to hear it went so well. Hopefully your husband won't take it as a sign to go away again. :-)
Great photo! Apple has the same pants as Thing 3 :).
You said it right, that's for sure. If we devote every second to amusing the kids all day long, then they would be so happy all day long, but something would have to give. Good for you for making it through the weekend, rain and all.
Now, when is it your turn?
Great job at surviving and having some fun! I've flown solo the last two weekend in a row so I am looking forward to us getting back on track even though my little dumplins have been easy on me. lol
I am glad everything went great.
I hope I can pass the time Daniel is gone just as happily. I know I won't be able to spend every moment with them... a 6 month deployment is too long for that ie. dishes, paying bills, mowing grass that will need to be done... but I do hope that I can invest all of myself into them. I just want them to remember this as a happy time. Not a sad, missing Daddy, lonely time.
LOVE the picture!
-Andrea
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