Holding Down the Fort

Well, once again I’ve made it to my favorite time of day, when the kiddos are finally in bed, and I’m on the couch, remote in one hand, glass of vino/beer/brandy/tequila in the other.

Over the past five days, the Mrs. has been been away in Atlanta for a design conference. For the most part, the kids have been great. But when you’re the only one getting them up, making them breakfast, packing their lunches, taking them to school, picking them up from school, making them dinner, cleaning up after dinner, taking them to soccer, giving them showers, reading them a book, and then putting them to bed…well, let’s just say it’s long day.

God bless all you single moms and dads out there. Seriously, you deserve a medal.

Today we went to 9:15 Mass, and I was really looking forward to the children’s liturgy. This is where they take the kids elsewhere during the first and second readings, the gospel reading, and the sermon, giving me at minimum a good 15 minutes of alone time. And, of course, Father forgot about it, which meant an additional 15 minutes of The Animal squirming around in pew and climbing all over me like a capuchin monkey on Red Bull. Because, you know how much 6-year-old boys just love church.

By the time we got to the final blessing, I was counting down the seconds until breakfast at the Hot Dog Shoppe. That’s when my son decided to drop the fold-away kneeler directly onto my shins. Oh joy. It probably wouldn’t have been any easier if my wife had been there. But at least I would’ve had someone to share the misery with.

The kids love it when Daddy’s in charge, of course. A popsicle before dinner? Sure! Another TV show? Why not?! You wanna go to church in the same pants you slept in? I don’t see why not. The way I see it, whatever makes my life easier is A-okay with me.

Another problem being the solo parent is that you’ve only one set of eyes and one set of ears. For example, the other night at the restaurant, The Animal ordered a root beer, and for some reason the waitress brought him a large, adult size drink. I wasn’t paying attention as he sucked it down before his meal came, or when the waitress inexplicably asked him if he wanted another. So by the time his meal showed up, he was already buckled over in the booth with a stomachache. Although this was an obvious parent fail on my part, it actually turned out to be a good lesson as to why we don’t normally let them drink pop. So in the end I guess my laissez-faire parenting style turned out to be pretty effective.

Point: me.

My wife is coming home tomorrow evening, so all I have to do is make it through one more day. Boy, are these kids in for a rude awakening. Personally, I’m just looking forward to a nap. I think I earned it. ~

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Copyright © 2016 Valentine J. Brkich