Over the last year, Tom has been on three work trips that have summed to four weeks of travel, and four weeks of adventures in single parenting for myself. He did a week in Italy in May, two weeks in Norway in November, and a week in the UK in January.
I think it's universally accepted that being a single parent is hard. But I don't think you really truly GET how hard it is until you live it. And even then I had many benefits. For example, I knew my 1-2 weeks stints had an end in sight. And, I had two sets of grandparents ready to leap in and help us (and, help us they did).
The week Tom spent in Italy in May is a distant memory for me now. I was still on maternity leave then, so I wasn't juggling as many schedules. Overall... I think it went well? I can't even remember what happened. I felt like I had a village to help me through it, and it wasn't so bad.
I was back to work for the two week stint in Norway in November. As it approached, my trepidation grew. The nights were long, with Scarlett's constant disruptive sleep screaming. But we made it through the first week in one piece. And then... Then the weekend hit. I got up early on Friday morning with Scarlett, and she promptly puked all over me. After she puked I plunked her in the tub to wash her down, and she was the happiest clam you've ever met. My parents came over to help me out so I could catch up on some sleep after the long week. I woke up from my nap and felt awful - - queasy and woozy. I soon found myself puking. And as I was throwing up, I could hear Scarlett screaming downstairs, because she had projectile vomited all over the kitchen again.
My parents volunteered to stay overnight to help me out. And Lacey woke me up at 1:30am. She initially thought she had to go to the bathroom, but after we talked a bit, I realized she was feeling queasy too. And a few minutes later, she puked in a garbage can. However, as it turns out this puking instance was a real milestone parenting win! This was the first time Lacey successfully puked into a garbage can! Can someone give me a high five?!
The only upside to this stomach bug was that my parents never caught it, and it was relatively short lived. We were back to work and daycare, and limped through the last week. The girls watched anxiously at the arrivals gate for Tom, and it was a happy reunion.
And hey, Tom got some beautiful photos of Norway too!
After the two week trip was under my belt, I felt like I could handle the single week in January like a pro. But... As luck would have it, January hit our house like a freight train. After Christmas, I caught a cold bug that hit me hard. I ended up with pneumonia, and a cough that lasted for weeks. Of course, Scarlett caught the bug that I had, and promptly got an ear infection. Aaand then it was time for Tom to head to the UK!
Here's Scarlett at the peak of ear infection misery. Poor little bubby!
Aaaaaand, then Lacey proceeded to have a raging fever for nearly five days. It yo-yo'd back and forth and back and forth for days and days before finally breaking.
It was a looooong looooong week.
So I have concluded where work trips are concerned, sickness and chaos are sure to follow.
We did have some nice moments while Tom was gone.
The girls tracked the days until he would come on a sticker chart.
Here's Lacey "reading" a story to Scarlett.
And here is how we deal with jetlag in our house...
