Solo Parenting

Last week, Tony got asked to go on a mission trip through his work. He was asked on Wednesday and he left on Saturday. It was so last minute because someone else had been lined up to go, but then had to back out. It's a huge honor to be asked to go on these trips. What his company is doing is amazing. They are literally helping thousands of people to hear that have never heard before in their life.

When Tony told me he was asked to go, I was already feeling a little worn down emotionally. I mean, we had been gone from home every weekend for three weekends in a row, one of which was our trip to Brookings. Being in limbo for so long over our decision to relocate had been hanging over our heads for awhile, and I was just feeling DONE with toddler whining. The idea of solo parenting for 6 days was overwhelming to say the least, especially with such short notice.

Then I think of the people I know that do this all the time, like Non Sequitur Chica, whose husband travels for work WEEKS at a time, all the time. And I know there's many who are single parents and do it all the time! And here I was, feeling overwhelmed with the thought of just 6 days.

As it turned out, my AMAZING Aunt D was able to come for a visit and stay with us for 3 of the 5 nights he's away. She arrived the day Tony left, and left this morning. Now I only have 2 nights and 2.5 days flying solo. I can do this!

My sister and her family were able to come for dinner and a visit on Saturday, the first day he was gone. That helped Ayden and Rylee be distracted enough not to miss their daddy too much. They got to play with their cousins and our house was in glorious chaos.

Family is everything.

Ayden and Rylee have asked for their daddy several times over the last few days, but have accepted that he will be gone for a few more days. Now that Aunt D has gone home, we'll see how bedtime goes tonight.

For myself, I can at least say that I feel somewhat mentally refreshed after having her visit for a few days, despite us staying up way too late talking every night. I'm not feeling quite as overwhelmed and am ready to tackle this solo parenting thing head on, even with the colds that the kids have managed to come down with!

I'm hoping for an early and easy bedtime tonight and that the next few days go by quickly!