My husband and I don’t have typical jobs- we travel a lot- and are on call most of the time. No, we are not doctors (not even close actually)- but we work in travel (loosely), and so deal a lot with logistics, changing plans, etc. We also travel a lot- away from home for 4-7 days at a time… not crazy far, but away.
This week, my husband is away, and I can’t tell you how anxious this makes me. The thought of working full time, then making dinner, bathing, negotiating, putting to bed, and all the in between with a toddler makes my head spin. I do have an incredible nanny who watches our girl while I am at work, but when I get home, that is when the stress sets in.
I know of many people that are quickly able to spin this to beautiful bonding time with their kids, and are excited at the prospect. I think they are full of shit. Sure, I feel a bit of this- but truthfully, I enjoy parenting so much more when my husband is home. I hate the pressure of having to be the Fun, energetic, exciting one- while also making sure she is eating balanced meals, not peeing in corners, and doing something other than watching tv.
Most of all- I hate the unpredictability of my toddlers bed time right now- gone are the days when we know she will be down at a certain time- and then we have those blissful 2-3 hours of FREE time before we head to bed… Nope, not with a 2.5 year old- last week I fell asleep cross legged on a cold hardwood floor with my arm in my daughters crib so she could rub my arm hair. After about 45 minutes, I stood up only to find that my left leg was asleep all the way up to my vagina, and my bones cracked so many times that she woke up and said, “mama, where are you going?” I told her it was time to sleep and I was leaving… she immediately stood up and started SCREAMING. Great, got this whole bed time thing down. Nope. Back to cross legged floor sleeping. All I want to do is make popcorn.
Every sleep book tells you that consistency is key, just calmly put your child back to bed and tell them its time to sleep… but then she is getting up and screaming at the top of her lungs until I come back… and do it all again. Great, sounds easy after long day of anything… right, thanks sleep experts.
The bottom line is- I am counting down the days until my husband comes back… and he does, right in time for Father’s day. In honor of this- let me tell you the top 5 reasons I am grateful for my awesome baby daddy:
- He actually ENJOYS getting up in the night… if our girl doesn’t wake up in the night, he “misses her”. Barf- but great for me.
- He is never worried about what other people think of our parenting choices- he is caring, and kind, but also doesn’t give a shit, and ALWAYS has our daughters best interest top of mind.
- He makes sacrifices every day… and never reminds us of it. He stays home on nights when friends are partying, he works after hours so that he can play with his girl when she is awake, and he takes all of is holidays on my parents couch in Canada so that I can have time with my family.
- He is FUN, and ENERGETIC, and no matter how many times she asks him to throw her up in the air, or run back and forth to the gate, or to do his hair… he does it.
- He loves us- with his whole heart, and I know this will never waiver. I see it in his actions every day. He is not great with words- which takes time to adjust to- but when you realize how much his actions mean.. its incredible.
We are very blessed women, my girl and I.
So 2 nights left until he gets back- and tonight, even if it is 11 pm- I am going to make popcorn. Then I will sit and eat it and think about how lucky I am to have an awesome dad myself, and how lucky my girl and I are to have him.
feisty women anonymous 