Todd was out of town this past weekend, as he often is in the late fall. The kids and I had a great weekend and I rented a Gravely to clear up the little people, cars, plastic lids, kitchen utensils, stuffed animals, assorted baking pans, shoes, socks, books and blocks that made their way onto the floor in 24 hours. Actually, I was exhausted from two long days with the kids and Todd suggested renting the Gravley because all the above mentioned items were still on the floor when he got home. Oops. Bad wife. When Todd is gone, I frequently pray for those I know who are single parents - for their energy and stamina, patience, creativity and support of family and friends.
Going to church solo, however, is something I feel I have down to a science. My friend Rachel says her mom (a pastor's wife) always though the Devil was hardest at work on Sunday morning. I'm inclined to agree, which is why we have a strict schedule that has been tweaked for optimum performance.
Somehow, between trying to brush my teeth, apply lipstick and procure my shoes, we got about 7 minutes behind schedule. No problem, I think, think is why we build 15 minutes of "free time" into the schedule. Somehow the extra 8 minutes we should have had turned into -3 minutes and we were late! It is a major pet peeve of mine to be late for church. Major. Major pet peeve.
So in a flurry, I coat-ed X2, hat-ed X2, packed extra diapers and a pair of pants, prepared milk with an ice pack. hat-ed again, let the dog out, hat-ed again, put the dog in his cage, stuffed Thing Two, a purse and a diaper bag into the car and called for Thing One to come and climb into the car. He stood in the door way and I urgently and in frustration called him again to come and obey momma immediately. Then he says, "I need shoes on." Honestly, if I had a nickel every time that child tried to get outside without shoes on, I would go down to 6 hours of work per week! All I could do was laugh. After apologizing profusely and telling him he was a smart boy for remembering shoes, I did actually remember to put the shoes on him. I would have been terribly embarrassed to show up with a stocking-foot boy. God loves it when we laugh and rejoice in him and I thank Him for showing me why he's so much better at being in control.
2 comments:
This is a great story! I too agree that whenever I am without Andy I don't know how single parents do it!
I have only braved church 2 times without my hubby! I KNOW I could do it, right now I choose not to. I know I'm bad but one day, when they can all dress themselves and are fully potty trained, I will! My husband is gone 2 weeks a month and I rarely clean house let alone shower myself-funny post!
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