Come to Mama

On Saturday afternoon, I drove J and the kids to the airport and said goodbye to all of them for two weeks.  J's sister is getting married, so they all went for two weeks to go to the wedding and hang out with family.  With the exception of J's mom and brother, none of them have ever met Josie, and haven't seen Zeke since he was about 8 months old.

And it's a big adventure, getting to go to Australia.  They're excited to go to the beach and see koalas and kangaroos.  They have little journals in which they will be drawing pictures and writing about what they're doing every day.

But damn, two weeks is a long time.  I miss them so much.  The first day was the hardest - on the Sunday after they left, I went to the grocery store for about 30 minutes and then didn't leave the house for the rest of the day.  I watched football and napped and moped around feeling sorry for myself.

J has called every day, so I know they're having a great time and that all is well.  They've been to the beach and hung out with their cousins and Josie was treated to a facial (and passed right out - I guess the jet lag hit her hard when she was all comfy and being pampered) and they're excited to go to the wedding and dance.

But today when they called, J told me that Josie has an ear infection, and when she spoke to me for a few minutes, she sounded tired.  Then Zeke got on the phone and promptly started to cry because he missed me, and then I started to cry, and it was all very weepy and pathetic.

In an effort to cheer myself up, I decided to list the good things about the 2 week break that I'm getting:

• My morning routine is a cinch.  I can exercise and be ready for work and out the door without having to wake them up (which they hate), get them dressed (which they hate), and then rush around trying to get them into socks and shoes and hats and coats and mittens without being late for school (which I hate).    
• I can make dinner plans with friends and stay out as late as I want.
• I can go to New York to visit my brother and sister-in-law.
• I don't have to clean up anybody else's mess.
• Nobody complains if I sing along to the radio.
• Nobody is arguing about wanting to sleep in my bed.
• The toilet is always flushed, so I'm not encountering rogue giant turds when I got to the bathroom.
• Nobody is leaving legos on the floor for me to maim my feet on when I step on them.
• I haven't watched Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse once.

I live in quiet and order, doing what I want.  

So many people have been all, "ooooh, you're so lucky to have time to yourself, take advantage of it!" 

And I am.  But one of the great joys of divorce/sharing custody is that I already get regular breaks when I can take time for myself.  I don't feel like I'm lacking in that department.

Bottom line, I miss my monkeys and can't wait for them to come home and fill my house up with mess, noise and love again.