Love given to you will evaporate like a puddle, unless you are open to absorb it.

The first week of Daddy being gone passed relatively smoothly.  I made a point of emphasizing to Zeke how I needed him to be a big boy and help me out with Josie and to generally be a good boy.  And the three of us seemed to be ever-vigilant about being patient and taking care of each other.

This week the bloom is off that rose and we're all just crabby.  I ask Zeke not to splash water out of the tub and he gives me a throat-fart* and a surly face.  Zeke tries to lean in to give Josie a kiss (and to be honest, he's got issues with personal space) and she pushes him away and says, "AWAY!"  Josie starts whining because she wants to watch Elmo, but I'm in the middle of cleaning toys off the floor and I snap, "oh, for God's sake, hold on!"

The weather has been weird.  It was warm for a couple of weeks, then last week a cold front moved in and it's been chilly and either raining or threatening rain.  When I went to pick up the kids from school, it looked like a storm was moving in, meaning we wouldn't be able to go to the park, so I just took them home.  We all had dinner, but then the bitchery ensued about who was going to get to watch Dora when the other wanted to watch Nemo, and then Josie ran towards the front door and started to cry when I wouldn't open it for her because I was in the middle of eating a plate of food.

I looked out the window, saw that the sun had poked out for a spell and said, "c'mon kids, put your clothes on [Zeke was naked, naturally], we're going to the park."

The elementary school down the road has a great playground that's open to the public.  Play areas with structures that increase in size and complexity, for different ages and levels of dexterity, surrounding a big open baseball field.  But the field was soaking wet from being watered.  Both kids immediately made a bee-line for it.

I started to yell, "watch out for the puddles! You'll get wet and make a mess!"  But then I stopped myself.  The kids were running back and forth in the puddles, soaking their shoes and their pants but giggling their little asses off and having a great time.

So their clothes got wet and dirty.  Really, who gives a shit?

I just sat and watched them have fun.  Zeke fell down in the mud at one point, but we all just laughed.  They ran around, they went on the slide, they played "chase."  And when it started getting colder and I told them it was time to head home and have a bath, they were happy to oblige.

There were no more fights the rest of the night.  Everyone was tired and happy.

Four more sleeps until Daddy gets home.

________________________
*A wordless, gutteral exclamation of irritation made from the back of the throat.