Away
It's the 20th anniversary of high school graduation for both Katie and me this year. I decided I wasn't interested in going to mine since we'd be in Utah a couple weeks before the reunion anyway. Katie wasn't interested in hers, but there was also a reunion for the kids who were on the seminary council. She wanted to go, but we couldn't decide whether to try making the trip.
Eventually the week of this reunion came and we still hadn't made the decision. It was a breakfast Saturday morning on Toquerville near her parents' home, which is about an eight-hour drive. The thought of making the kids be in the car that long was frankly terrifying, so I had mostly ignored the possibility. There was also little chance that she would go by herself.
Except she did. For the first time in our entire marriage, Katie took a trip away from the kids. Okay, once she left overnight to fly to Oregon for her grandmother's funeral, but that was the only other time. And at the time we only had Sam. So this was a big deal for her. I left work early so she could get going once she informed me on Friday afternoon. So yeah, literally a last-minute decision. She drive all afternoon and evening, finally arriving at her parents' house around 11:00.
Meanwhile, we were doing fine at home. We had dinner and then the kids played outside with the neighbors, who were having a marshmallow roast that night. Because the kids were running around and having fun, I was able to take Clara inside and get her to bed without James putting up too much of a fuss, because Sam was playing with him. (For some reason as soon as one of us tries to get Clara down, he freaks out.) Then I got James to sleep. He has never let me help him, but with no mom there was no choice. So after 15 minutes of screaming, he finally went to sleep by about 10. For us that's a miracle.
I read to Allison and got her to bed as well, and did my best to convince Sam to go to bed too. I didn't sleep well that night because I knew James would eventually wake up and freak out again that Katie wasn't there. He did sleep until 5, and then after 20 more minutes he went back to sleep for a few more hours.
I wasn't sure how to get my Saturday run in, so I eventually put James in the stroller and left Sam to watch the girls, with a phone he could use to call me if there were any problems. He did well. I had only pushed the stroller running a few times, but it went fine. James actually slept through most of it.
We cleaned up the house a bit and went to Iona Days, the local town celebration they do in July. It's kind of like a carnival with games and booths. It was really hot and humid, so we didn't stay too long. Meanwhile, Katie hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night, missing the rest of us, but she enjoyed seeing her old friends again. After lunch she got back in the car and drove and drove again. She got home a little before 9.
All in all, things went well and everyone survived. It would be good for her to get away every once in a while to preserve her sanity, but I don't know how I'll convince her to. I've traveled for work here and there, probably 20 nights over the last 2 years, so I've at least had some sort of a break. But hey, sometimes home if just where you want to be.
Eventually the week of this reunion came and we still hadn't made the decision. It was a breakfast Saturday morning on Toquerville near her parents' home, which is about an eight-hour drive. The thought of making the kids be in the car that long was frankly terrifying, so I had mostly ignored the possibility. There was also little chance that she would go by herself.
Except she did. For the first time in our entire marriage, Katie took a trip away from the kids. Okay, once she left overnight to fly to Oregon for her grandmother's funeral, but that was the only other time. And at the time we only had Sam. So this was a big deal for her. I left work early so she could get going once she informed me on Friday afternoon. So yeah, literally a last-minute decision. She drive all afternoon and evening, finally arriving at her parents' house around 11:00.
Meanwhile, we were doing fine at home. We had dinner and then the kids played outside with the neighbors, who were having a marshmallow roast that night. Because the kids were running around and having fun, I was able to take Clara inside and get her to bed without James putting up too much of a fuss, because Sam was playing with him. (For some reason as soon as one of us tries to get Clara down, he freaks out.) Then I got James to sleep. He has never let me help him, but with no mom there was no choice. So after 15 minutes of screaming, he finally went to sleep by about 10. For us that's a miracle.
I read to Allison and got her to bed as well, and did my best to convince Sam to go to bed too. I didn't sleep well that night because I knew James would eventually wake up and freak out again that Katie wasn't there. He did sleep until 5, and then after 20 more minutes he went back to sleep for a few more hours.
I wasn't sure how to get my Saturday run in, so I eventually put James in the stroller and left Sam to watch the girls, with a phone he could use to call me if there were any problems. He did well. I had only pushed the stroller running a few times, but it went fine. James actually slept through most of it.
We cleaned up the house a bit and went to Iona Days, the local town celebration they do in July. It's kind of like a carnival with games and booths. It was really hot and humid, so we didn't stay too long. Meanwhile, Katie hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night, missing the rest of us, but she enjoyed seeing her old friends again. After lunch she got back in the car and drove and drove again. She got home a little before 9.
All in all, things went well and everyone survived. It would be good for her to get away every once in a while to preserve her sanity, but I don't know how I'll convince her to. I've traveled for work here and there, probably 20 nights over the last 2 years, so I've at least had some sort of a break. But hey, sometimes home if just where you want to be.
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