In Response to Octamom's "Me TiME"

I know my chaos is only 1/4 of my friend Octamom, but I was giggling as I read her post today, relating to just about everything she wrote about except the part about homeschooling.

When my husband went to the Philippines the first time (supposedly for 5 weeks) I thought "this won't be so bad." But as 5 weeks SLOWLY turned into 4 months, I thought I would lose my mind because we didn't ave a babysitter, and my mother and aunt were slowly losing patience with my son. Errands came down to the last minute decision of, "Is it worth dragging a hyper three year old along." Dance lessons and the like were non-negotiable, but trips to Target and the grocery store would begin with questions like, "How long can I really go with this last roll of toilet paper?" (a problem I know Octamom doesn't have) or "Can the kids survive on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for another couple of days?"

When Gary returned from his extended trip, I gave him a kiss, opened the gifts he brought me (a ton of Coach handbags,) and "disappeared" for two days, coming home to sleep and shower. One might ask, "What does one do for two days?" Mostly I did nothing and enjoyed every minute of it. I did escape to the Fountain of Beauty (yes that's its real name) and considered asking for every service they had. I wandered Target and drove to Austin and enjoyed walking up and down the aisles of all places - The Container Store. I called a couple of friends to join me but they had prior engagements, so I even did the unthinkable. I went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and ordered everything I ever wanted and was never able to enjoy because of antsy children. I stayed as long as I wanted and even considered not going home, but in the end my Buick LeSabre quietly wound its way through the countryside, finding its way back home.

Currently, I am going through the same situation. This time, however, I managed to find a babysitter who likes my son, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as Gary will be home in three days.

I know there are single moms out there who do what I have been doing everyday without fail, and there are moms who are "geographically single" who wake up every morning and faithfully support their husbands who are defending our country's freedom. I see these ladies everyday where I teach school. I am certain I could learn a lot from many of them. I am not them and I thank God everyday that I don't have to worry about whether my husband is not going to come home because of some IED.

This time when Gary gets home, he will still be greeted by a kiss. I will open my Mother's Day gifts and then I am going to call the Fountain of Beauty, but this time it will be for his Father's Day gift - thankful that his 5 week trip didn't turn into a 5 month trip. Then I am going to find my mother and take her out for her long awaited Mother's Day shopping trip sans children.

I'll be thinking of you as we enjoy the Cheesecake Factory. Oh and Octamom, you are more than welcome to meet us there.