Having been away from home for several days, I was glad to get back to my boys. There’s something about routine and familiarity that can cushion an aching soul from the ups and downs of life.
However, I was not glad to get back to laundry.
While I was away, a strange thing happened. Mad Dog became slightly obsessed with keeping the house clear of dirty laundry. He even promptly threw the boys’ swim wear in the washer when they returned from their lesson.
I don’t know how long he will continue this obsession.
Full Speed reading to T.Puzzle. A beautiful thing.
With Mad Dog away this week things can get a little hairy around here. I tend to be slightly more stressed which in turn means my boys are out to get me. Well, not really. It only feels that way. My stress adds to their stress. The only difference is that the world sanctions their tantrums. Mine? I have to keep to myself or share lovingly with my husband when he returns home. Lucky him.
T.Puzzle has not disappointed this week. He is in top, tantruming form.
I have seen so many of these episodes over the years I have lost count.
Or it’s possible my boys have worn me down so much, I have lost my ability to count.
We finished soccer just in the nick of time to start swim lessons. Apparently there is no rest for the weary in our household.
I wasn’t sure how these lessons would go. Full Speed is old enough and adapts well so I figured he would be okay. I was more worried about T.Puzzle especially once the instructor confirmed the boys would not be allowed to wear their glasses in the pool. This did not sit well with me. I know it is necessary and I’m all about deferring to the instructor. She has been doing this for years and I have to help her establish that what she says is the law.
Everything went smoothly with Full Speed except that he was a freezing, chattering mess by the end. T.Puzzle was a different story. He melted down early and often. It was hard to sit and watch. I had to resist the urge to jump fully clothed into the pool and rescue him. Eventually, the instructor got him calm and he slowly began to overcome his fear. By the end of the lesson he was determined to do whatever she asked of him and do it better than his brother had. Sibling rivalry in this instance was a beautiful thing.
Full Speed looks on as T.Puzzle practices how to get safely out of the pool.
By watching T.Puzzle work through his fear I realized something. If T.Puzzle can conquer a pool without glasses, he is going to be ready for anything life throws at him.
Except maybe his overprotective Mom hurtling herself towards him if he ever goes anywhere near the deep end of the pool.
A Disney trip when the boys were younger. At least there were open spaces and lots of kid-geared activities making this 'vacation' quite fun.
I was on the phone with a friend and before our conversation turned to more serious matters we discussed an interesting facet of motherhood. We are both amazed how quickly people who no longer have small children forget how hard it is to travel with them. They have all sorts grandiose ideas about international trips that include the extended family or they talk of cruises that last for fourteen days (fourteen days!!). What this would mean for parents with very young and/or very rambunctious children is entirely different than for a family or couple with older/calmer or completely grown children.
The thought of being trapped on a boat for fourteen days, and I don’t care how big it is, with my boys is enough for me to shout, “Woman overboard!” Imagining my friend traveling across oceans with her little clan of young kids makes my skin crawl with anxiety for her. Essentially this ‘vacation’ would simply mean she would be responsible for all her regular motherhood duties with the added bonus that her kids would be jetlagged and out their minds without their routine or familiar surroundings. Nothing international is worth this kind of stress. Nothing. Not even a George Clooney sighting in Italy would take the sting away.
So, the question is, how do people forget how hard it is? And please, if you know, share how to do so with me immediately.
Having been away from home for several days, I was glad to get back to my boys. There’s something about routine and familiarity that can cushion an aching soul from the ups and downs of life. 
