I Am the Adult

I wrote this while Big Guy was away this past summer... When I wrote this, we still had two and a half weeks left until he came home.  

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My husband teaches ROTC at the local university, and while I think this is an “easy” job in the grand scheme of things, he still has to go on Army Adventures. I am still at home with all three children, two dogs, a house to run in this state, and a house we own in a different state to worry about. Without fail, several things go wrong each and every time he leaves. This is a very common story throughout military life, and among military spouses. However, what goes wrong changes from “bye-bye” to “bye-bye”. Let’s talk about the things that have gone wrong in the three weeks my husband has been gone.

• ·         The middle child got a fever, and became a clingy, whiny sobbing creature that dripped snot all over my shoulder.
• ·         The in-ground sprinkler system in the backyard sprung a leak somewhere, and water began to pool in odd places. That one isn’t so bad I guess, but I worry about water conservation – we do live in the desert.
• ·         Middle child, after recovering from the fever, decided those toilet bowl refresher things you can clip to the side of the toilet would be perfect to flush! It caused the toilet to clog, massively, and I had to call the plumber. He later told me, “I was just trying to make it smell so nice.” Yup, it smelled super fresh in there, but I did not enjoy paying that unforeseen bill.
• ·         The garbage disposal broke, and leaked water all over the cabinet under the kitchen sink. The water damaged the particle board cabinet, and disintegrated anything cardboard… I had to wash dishes in the children’s water table outside, because I was desperate.
• ·         The littlest one got the fever the middle one brought home. Tiny then started complaining his tooth hurt, and crying intermittently for no apparent reason. I scheduled him to see the dentist, but he had new symptoms pop up, and when I called the dentist they recommended he see his primary care doctor first. Off to the pediatrician I went, all three kids in tow, and learned Tiny has Hand Foot Mouth Disease. This highly contagious, and super nasty virus has forced us into quarantine. 
• ·         I have filled out an order at Domino’s and Pizza Hut, and submitted neither because I am trying to save money and not order out. Yet, I am so desperate to see another adult human person after being in quarantine with these kids, that I might just order the damn pizza… or maybe Chinese would be yummy.
• ·         The vacuum became so clogged, I had to disassemble the machine to get the clog out… it was actually clogged in two places. My husband was like, “No worries, we will get a new one when I get home.” I was like, “Yay! I still need to vacuum over the next two weeks you are still gone.” So, I fixed the vacuum, and then decided I should shampoo the carpets while I was at the whole business. The damn carpet shampooer is not functioning properly either, and I have sent the company yet another email to complain.

Honestly, there are so many little things throughout the day that happen that I don’t think would happen if he were home, that I can’t even think of them. Someone once told me that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. And I just laugh, because my understanding is of course he does, because he is God and he does what he wants. I am, however, reminded that God gives you the people you need when he has given you too much, and luckily I have had some pretty amazing neighbors and friends to give us love… from a far, of course, because we are all contagious right now.

I need an adult.

And I am the adult.

And Today sucks.

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For the record, today, the day I am posting this article, does not suck. Today is delightful.

I still need an adult though.

And I am still the adult. Go figure.