My Week as a Single Mum

By the time this posts Jeff will be on his way to the airport in Seoul, South Korea. He left early early last Friday, and will be back home late Thursday night (yes, Leah's birthday, could the timing be any worse?). He went for a science conference. On the one hand, I am really happy that his new boss is so committed in investing in him, on the other, it stunk having him away from home for a week, especially this week.
Tommy and I survived. The first few days were rougher than I thought they would be. Since Tommy and Jeff have been separated numerous times on our gloriously long winter trips to California, I assumed that he would be fine with this trip. Wrong. It is one thing for Dad to not be living at Jjaja's and Poppa's house, but another thing entirely for him not to be here at our house. Even though we have video chatted with Jeff every day (sometimes twice), Tommy has been noticeably upset. The clinging, whining, irritability, and lack of sleep have been frustrating, especially in light of the fact that when I went away for the weekend a certain little boy was (according to Jeff) perfectly fine!
After the second day I decided that I would be investing in some frozen dinners (Trader Joe's, of course, only the best for Tommy) and letting the apartment get a little messier than usual. I scheduled a bunch of activities to wear him out, and, things got better. I think Tommy adjusted a little to not having Jeff around, and, since I was exhausting him with fun he didn't have much time to think about it anyway. I can't lie. Pride comes before fall. Yesterday, I even thought to myself, "this isn't so bad. I can do this."
Today, our second to last day, was a low point. I had planned to either let Tommy run through the sprinkler or take him to a splash pad or the park, but then it was wet and rainy all morning. We went to check out a different library instead, and the toys there were surprisingly lame. He was already cranky, and then not being able to get the wiggles out really pushed him over the edge. He was testy and disobedient all day. Adding to that, he is now in what I refer to as his "destructor" phase, destructor being T's nickname when he is being destructive. It's like his goal in life is to break/rip/tear/stomp on/beat/throw anything he can get his hands on. On the plus side, with all the resulting time outs I had some time to myself.
I have decided that I prefer parenting with a partner. Having Jeff around, even for just an hour in the morning and a few hours in the evening, makes all the difference in the world. I can't wait for him to get home. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder!