I'd Suck as a Single Mom

I am so glad that I am not a single mom. I have to tell myself this every couple of months, after a long stretch where Scott is busy, busy, busy and life threatens to swallow me whole.

Like the last month or so.

The black-hole-of-suckiness always centers around Scott being gone in the evenings for productions, but this fall's tough patch seems a bit worse than most, probably due to the high diaper-change-to-adult ratio in the house right now. Scott designed scenery for a local theatre's musical while teaching a course. Then he was supposed to have a block where he wasn't teaching while he was designing the set and lighs for the college's musical.

And then our nephews asked for help with old age make-up for their fall musical, so he was gone a couple of extra nights at bedtime helping there.

And then one of his colleagues died suddenly, leaving the whole theatre department raw and scrambling as the colleague was teaching a directing course. And Scott pitched in to help teach the course, which required additional time from home we hadn't been planning. Of course, this isn't anywhere near as devastating as losing a family member suddenly, so I feel kind of icky complaining about how it forced my husband to disappear into work.

And now he's in tech week for the musical, which is, naturally, far behind schedule and not coming together the way either he or the director wanted. I don't know where the issue lies, but I do know that Scott can, by himself, build and paint a three-act opera in about 80 man hours... not sure why this set isn't done...

And last week was deer hunting. Scott did get one of the two deer his party bagged. Yay for some real free-range meat! I hope that when the whole party splits it there's enough for a couple of taco nights and maybe some stew.

And he's back in tech rehearsals again this week, leaving us alone at bedtime for what feels like a month straight. And, of course, bedtime is the hardest part of the day because every single one of us is exhausted.

Oh yeah! Let's add in what the rest of us have been up to!
-- Milo broke his foot and had to wear a boot for about a week (it healed fast, whew!)
-- The two doctor visits associated with the broken foot
-- Milo had a dentist appointment
-- Violet had a dentist appointment the next week (the day Milo broke his foot)
-- Babies had their 6-month well baby check-ups
-- Violet had a dance recital for the local holiday festival
-- Parent/Teacher conferences (both kids are awesome!)
-- All four kids had a cold consecutively
-- I had a mild version of that cold
-- Jude had a tummy bug over the weekend -- gotta love sick babies as they want to be held constantly
-- Willa cut her first tooth
-- Milo lost another tooth
-- Mommy worked
-- Violet has dance lessons
-- Grandma D had back surgery
-- Scott's brother is building a house and Scott helps out when he can

I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something. But much of the "kid" list above has been dealt with by me because Scott's been so busy. Plus all of those tough bedtimes. Sigh... Mama is ready for a break... Who wants to give me an all-expenses-paid trip to a spa in Hawaii? I'm sure someone does, right?