Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath

I just received word that DadOfAllTrades was chosen to go help restore power to those without because of hurricane Irene.  "Pack for two weeks" they told him.

Part of me wants to scream....You can't dessert me!!  We have two little ones who get squirrly when Daddy is gone so long!  You have to attend Parent Orientation at the boy's school with me because I cannot be in two places at once.

Part of me wants to hug him for being a great provider and sacrificing his family time to put food on the table and a roof over our head.

Part of me wants to grab a shot and a beer.

Part of me is making a list in my head of things he has to do before I will officially let him go.  Like tell me the password for the on-line bill pay.  (He told me once, and I kinda listened.  Mostly because it would be one more thing I had to handle rather than him handling it, so I blew it off.  Now I wished I was a good wife in that moment.)  Like carry the mattresses upstairs for the out of town guests we are supposed to have next weekend.   Like cut the grass.

Part of me wants to drop to my knees and pray for ...I don't know.  Just pray.

But I think I will smile and give him a big hug before he leaves.  I am grateful he has a great job that he really does like and that pays well enough that I can be a stay-at-home mom.  And I am grateful I have him.

School begins

After a false start yesterday (no power in the school building), we got the boys off to their first day of school.  I say we because DadOfAllTrades happened to be home.  See, there was this terrible thunderstorm the night before the first day of school.  And when one works for the power company, one can expect to have to do a little overtime after storms.  Read:  I will not see him until Sunday or Monday after a biggie like this.

I digress...The boys are off and running to their new building (for Buzz) and the second grade wing (for LegoMaster).  They were both sOOOO disappointed at school being cancelled yesterday.  So much so that Buzz had a six year old version of a meltdown around 5pm that lasted until he went to bed.  I have never been so happy to close his bedroom door.  He could not tolerate any-thing, really any little thing sent him to tears and whining fits.  It was quite frustrating.  Since our current lecture series with the boys revolves around "making choices", I kept finding myself saying "You can choose to be miserable or you can choose to take a deep breath and do ______."  I think I used that phrase a hundred times in the three+ hours he persisted.

But it is all good.  They went willingly and happily.  I cannot wait to hear the stories from today.  About friends he has not seen in a while, or what the bus ride was like, or how their desks are.  OH bliss...

That Time Of The Year Again

A FB friend posted that there was only three weeks loft of summer vacation.  In June three weeks seemed like an eternity.  Now, not so much.  It seems like a short time to do everything.

We certainly have not done "nothing" all summer.  We have gone on vacation.  We have gotten all the school supplies together.  We have not forgotten our karate classes.  We have taught a Safety Town class.  Well, I have while the kids attended.  We have swum in the neighbors pool.  We have gone grocery shopping together. And some other summer-like things.

I wonder if the boys will remember the times we played together rather than those times I rolled my eyes because I was up to my elbows in cleaning supplies and could not stop to take apart a Lego or find a stray NASCAR replica.  I fear that the boys will feel like summer was boring and that Mom didn't do stuff with them. But in my heart I hope that they will remember that I let them get away with some fun stuff and that I did play many a round of Monopoly and race cars.

I remember climbing trees and swinging on the set in our backyard.  Also playing with my cousins and the dog.   So, maybe it is human nature to remember the fun stuff and not the boring stuff.

Sigh, summer vacation is almost over.