It was Day 7 of the saga, My Daughter Is Out Of Preschool. I was fried. You see, my daughter will only let Mommy take care of her. She wastes no time on Daddy who she has deemed incapable of doing anything for her even though he’s perfectly willing to help and, since this is child #2, has experience doing so. This means that I am on stage every moment she is awake. And, combined with the Tween (age almost 10) who is also out of school, my patience is nil.
It’s not only my patience that’s gone. So is my voice, my workouts (no childcare), my money (summer is expensive), and much of my social network (on vacation or driving children to various camps) which has all disappeared into the fog of summer.
We had just finished the fourth travel baseball game of the weekend. Let me repeat: of the weekend. Since Daughter was off the PIA-ometer, we decided that I would take her home for dinner while The King and Prince went out for the meal. I figured they’d be out, maybe an hour, and then I could find haven in a Target or Barnes and Noble. Instead, they sauntered in at 8:30PM whilst I was in the midst of the battle we call Bedtime. When they asked whether I would be going out, the puddle that was me at that hour said, “I can’t. I’m too tired.”
This happens often when I try to “renew.” By the time I can get a Second Shift going for childcare, I’m too pooped to party. Things did not look good for this Mom Renewal Project writer. I mean, how can I write about what I can’t do?
The next morning Junior started summer day camp which is about 25 minutes away. The inmates were in their seats in the back of the CRV. Mutually-satisfying music was rockin’ the stereo. I was driving. And I was happy. I had forgotten how the act of driving can at times please me.
The freedom of mobility, my car humming along, the scenery going by, kids happy in the backseat – it took me back to my single days (BC – before children) when I used to travel as part of my work. I relished visiting the manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, hitting the open road, the spirit of adventure at hand. Ok, they were daytrips and were limited in scope, but driving somehow relaxed me.
I guess sometimes renewal is parked right outside your door.
L. Klonsky can be found at www.newjerseymomsblog.com and http://momscrayon.blogspot.com
photo credit: Andreas H. Lunde
Oh, goodness! I recharge the exact same way..I just need those few minutes for myself….