Absence Makes the Heart Grows Fonder
Husband has been traveling a lot these past few weeks, and I'm tired of taking care of the kids and house by myself. When he's around, we often argue about the division of tasks at home, the time when I scream "I have to remind you everyday!!", or "Why do I have to ask for help each time?", or "It's like having three babies around!!" at least twice per week. Now that I'm alone, my days become longer. I have to cover-up his chores which makes me realize what a good help he actually is.
On normal weekdays, my mornings are rather slow. Husband wakes-up Joseph and helps him brushing his teeth. Husband also takes out some of the clean dishes from the machine, prepares slices of bread and peels the fruits for all of us and hardly forget to pour me a cup of tea. He wakes me up an hour later and I handle Joseph's lunch box and clothes only. Then he empties the trash and drops Joseph at school on his way to the office. Louise wakes up around that time, when both of us start our day.
Husband stops by the baker to pick-up some bread on his way home. He's also the one reading bed-time stories to the kids, saying thanks to the Creator, and putting them into bed. After having dinner, he cleans-up the kitchen and starts the dishwasher before coming to me to share his day. Sometimes I would gladly listen to him but some other times, after some tough days with the kids, I wish he could stop talking and just leave me alone.
Without the man at home, I become a very early bird. On top of already busy with homemaking the whole day, I have to get-up at 6.15 to start my own morning rituals (I have the habit to take a shower before going out of the house), and do the chores which are normally his. On good days, Louise keeps on sleeping while I'm taking care of her brother. Some other mornings, the little sister wants to be be out of the room at the same time as Joseph, which makes a crazy breakfast *imagine yourself spreading butter on the bread while one says "Mama, I hate waking-up in the morning" repeatedly, and the other screams "Mangoes ... mangoes!!" while it's the banana that she should eat*. Then I rush them for their outdoor gears (coats, shawls, gloves, boots) while shouting "Cepetan!!" (Hurry!) again and again, followed by carrying Louise like a rice bag while running down the stairs, rolling her stroller up from the basement to the lobby, sitting and attaching her in the stroller, pulling the entrance to open, pushing the stroller out with one hand and holding Joseph with my other to cross the busy morning street. And yeah, all those with both kids talking non-stop at the same time.
I spend the rest of the morning and afternoon as usual, except for the trash and bread. Reminding husband to throw away the trash is tiring, but at least he's the one executing it when he's around. Being alone, I have to go down carrying those heavy and smelly bags to the dumpster. Buying bread is not easy for I suck in choosing the good one.
End of each day is prolonged. After bathing and brushing their teeth, I still need to read kids their bed time stories, say our prayers *which can take some good minutes as Joseph thanks the Creator for every single train he drew* and kiss them goodnight. Finally I head back to the kitchen to clean-up and squeeze in a heap of dirty dishes into the machine. At 21.00 hours, I'm exhausted and merely browse the internet, chat with husband or friends. I have no energy left to read or write.
It's funny that the proverb "absence makes the heart grows fonder" applies here. When he's at home I take the help he gives for granted, when he's somewhere else it's obvious that he's a great helper. It's still some more days to go before he's back home *sigh*.