My husband doesn’t travel often for work, but when he does, I brace myself. It is inevitable, and I mean like clockwork, that one or both of the kids gets sick when he leaves.
J left early this morning for five days on the road. Not that this could be helped, but the timing of this trip really sucked. I’ve been ramping up at work in preparation for officially going back “full-time” in September (ironic, as I’ve actually been working 40 hours most weeks for quite some time). Our car is in the shop, so we had to go in to get a loaner car late last night. Both kids just started daycare full time, and we let go of our nanny. Let’s just say there’s been a bit of transitional chaos around the Mendenhall household lately.
And then there is the sick thing. The first time J went out of town and Bobo got sick to her stomach, I thought, “That bites. Perfect timing.” The second time, I thought, “Oh noooo, not this again!” After the third and fourth times, I bought a clue and surmised that maybe this was all more than mere coincidence. I highly suspect much of the queasiness is psychologically induced, not that that gives me any ideas on how to combat it.
After J left this morning, I was relieved to see no signs of the telltale vomit that usually accompanies his absence. Feeling safe, I packed the kids up to go to the mall. We did our usual routine trucking around in the stroller, playing in the kiddie area, then topping it off with Happy Meals at McDonald’s. All in all, a fun day.
It wasn’t until the car ride home that Bobo said she didn’t feel so good. I can say firsthand that watching your child throw up in the rearview mirror as you drive along the freeway, unable to stop, is not a fun experience. Fortunately, but the time we got home, the yacking had ceased, and both kids were exhausted and went down for their naps.
While they were sleeping, I attempted to clean up the McBlow from the inside of the car, and marveled at Bobo’s trajectory. Somehow, she managed to spew all over not only herself, but also two carseats, one Baby Bjorn, one stuffed monkey, one binkie, the inside of one loaner car, and a partridge in a pear tree. How Chip himself managed to stay out of the line of fire is beyond amazing.
J calls me on his layover just as I’ve come inside after getting the car cleaned up. He gives me a little pep talk, and I hang up feeling slightly better. Whenever he goes out of town, I gain a new found respect and admiration for single parents (how they do this on a daily basis and still manage to keep their sanity, I have no idea). It also makes me so appreciative of all that my husband does for both me and the kids while he is here. In a word, my husband really rocks. It’s going to a long five days without him… but we anxiously await his return!
