Since Mackenzie was born I was dreading PC being gone for the month of February. Honestly, I thought it might be the end of me and Im not sure why other than I know how hard some days can be being a single parent of one kid, I thought that two might just push me over the edge. Ironically, its been quite the opposite.

I remember how awful it was last spring when PC was gone for 3 months and I was pregnant. There was more than one occassion where I acted more like the 2 year old and less like the adult. I was sure history would repeat itself this spring when I had two to take care of, especially since Im not, what you might call, a patient person.

I’ve actually kept Nathan home from school a few days a week because I’ve enjoyed his company. He’s been a great listener, great at keeping himself busy when necessary, and dare I say- helpful. Going into this I kept telling PC how the evenings are really difficult with two parents around- how would I function on my own? I try and give Mackenzie her bath in the afternoon on the days she rates one and Im overly anal about having everything “set” early in the day. Before dinner time I lay out PJ’s, diapers, nana’s, books, lotion etc. I straighten pillows and make sure blankets, burp cloths and paci’s are in place. So after we are done with dinner I throw the dishes in the dishwasher, let the dog out and we all come upstairs. I plunk Nathan in the tub do teeth brushing and hair washing first thing and then let him play for as long as he likes. While he’s doing that I get Kiki’s jammies on, once Nathan gets out he gets jammied and climbs in bed with us girls and we read stories until about 7:30. Im so impressed with myself for streamlining this process, not that I’ve done anything special but if you knew the level of dread I was experiencing before all of this started you’d understand why Im so tickled.

Of course Im only a week into this so next week might be a different story but so far we’ve been faring much better than I expected. Its also helped that Nathan hasn’t had any behavioral backlash to deal with, I haven’t cooked a meal yet (thanks neighbors! thanks Kraft Mac and Cheese!) and the fact that Nathan is just that much older makes this so much easier.

Im not really sure what the point of all this was….maybe there isn’t one. Anyway, we’ve got things totally under control here and Im glad I didn’t spend the $4000 to fly the coop.

Filed under: Military Life