Day 48, Year 11: Over the Hump
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Cool
Location: At Home with the Goldpebbles in East Falmouth, MA
We have made it over the ‘hump’—four days down, three to go before mommy and daddy get home late on Saturday night. Right now I have nothing but praise for the parents of young children. As Mark said this evening, “Even when they are being very, very good, dealing with kids 24/7 is enough to drive a person to drink.” He was joking, or maybe half joking, half serious. We have been reminded this week of all of the demands placed on parents—getting kids up, dressed, and fed for school, packing their lunches, getting them to school on time, coming home to cook, clean, organize, and plan some special activities, going to get the kids from school, overseeing homework, overseeing special projects, playing with them, cooking dinner, getting everyone cycled through baths, reading bedtime stories, getting them to bed, and then collapsing while you wait for the cycle to start over again. Of all of these things, I find packing healthy lunches that the boys will eat to be the most challenging. Sam eats mostly meat, Jonah eats almost no meat, and Ollie used to eat everything but is starting to get a little pickier. Sam’s new love this week is my best attempt at duplicating Subway’s Italian BMT. I bought some sub rolls and put on ham, salami, and pepperoni with a little lettuce. He loves it. But Jonah and Ollie only take bites of their subs with only salami. Jonah and Ollie will eat fresh fruit, but Sam won’t touch it. The only common denominator seems to be yogurt. I started the week packing Sunny Butter sandwiches, but no one was eating them. Mark remembers being sent to school with a peanut butter sandwich five days a week. Thankfully I ate school lunches because I really don’t like peanut butter and that was about the only choice for packed lunches in the ‘olden days’. Anyway, I can see that packing lunches is a constant challenge and I congratulate Heather and Jed for persisting in trying to provide healthy choices. From my experience this week, it is really not easy. I now know why so many parents buy all of those pre-packaged choices at the grocery store. And I also praise Heather and Jed for their bedtime training. The boys just know that after dinner we either take a bath or have some quiet play time. Then we read, go to the bathroom, brush teeth, and tuck in. Sam and Jonah are both asleep by the time they hit the bed. Ollie needs a little more attention, but he has been sleeping through the night (something he doesn’t always do) and not getting up until 7:30ish. He is often up much earlier. He told me last night that he wakes up in the middle of the night but doesn’t call out for me. He said he just rolls over and goes back to sleep. I suggested that he do this all the time, not just when Oma and Granddad are here. I know Heather would appreciate that!
Mark has spent his days working on his public radio consulting job. He is searching for applicants for general manager of Hawaii Public Radio. But thankfully his schedule is flexible and he has been able to help out with all of the above. And even though the boys have had a few spits and spats, they have really been great. Heather called via Skype video on Sunday and Jed called on Monday. I had to laugh when Sam said, “Why are they calling? They haven’t been gone that long.” I know all three miss mommy and daddy, but not one of them has ever mentioned that. So far, they have been real troupers. So Heather and Jed, keep enjoying your time away. After eight years of constant parenting, you deserve a little time to yourselves.
