Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Flying Solo

Brian is away on business in southern California so it's just me, Ben and Saki.

I would be a terrible single mother.

Brian and I split everything down the middle. Careers, childcare, housework, cooking - you name it. Having him gone is like giving up the use of a limb. Sure everything gets done but frequently in a state of triage. I've heard many a mother say things run a bit more smoothly when their husbands are out of town for a few days....frankly I'm doing my best not to have Brian come home to a parched dog skeleton, a runaway son and a wife going to work without her pants on.

I was making Ben's bed a few days ago when I bent down to tuck in the sheets. At that precise moment he rounded the corner into the bedroom. He was making a turbo sound with arms jutting out like airplane wings, pretending to be a World War I "Spitfire" coming in for a landing on the bed. Needless to say my son's knee rammed into my face smashing my nose upward. For five seconds I slipped out of mom mode and started crying from the sudden impact. My son became exptremely upset to see me doubled over in pain. Like all moms, I immediately switched gears assuring him "It's all right. It was just an accident. I'm fine, don't worry..." - as I waited for blood to gush out of my nose.

When you have a son - motherhood is a contact sport.

7 comments:

JT said...

Omigosh, I hate crying in front of my girls--and I've done it more times than I care to. They get so worried, and it takes all I have to pull myself together for their sakes.

I was digging Avram being away for awhile when he'd leave, and then I decided, "No, it's not cute anymore--me playing Bonnie Franklin to tiny versions of MacKenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli."

Kranki said...

Poor you! Poor nose! Poor Ben!

Dr. Deb said...

You're not kidding about the contact sport mothering that comes along with having a son!!! I think it is truly amazing how single moms do it.

~Deb

ellesu said...

So how did you find this man of yours, and....did you have any idea you were going to be so lucky/blessed from the git-go?

As much as I (should) hate to say it, things do run much smoother when my hubby's away -- as he is most of the time. When he's home he expects regular *home-cooked* meals, regular hours to be kept. All sorts of unrealistic stuff.

I hope your nose is healed. :)

Julie Marsh said...

Oh no - how painful! And scary for both of you. I know how Tacy freaks out when I'm hurt, so I can imagine Ben's reaction to YOUR reaction.

And I'm with you on the impact of the husband's absence. Kyle was considering a position that would entail 50% travel, and I was silently praying he wouldn't take it. I don't think the girls and I would survive.

east village idiot said...

I know a husband that came home to a happy dog, a happy kid, a clean house (for us) and a lovely but tired wife. I think that the East Village Idiot would do fine as a single mother without the East Village Imbecile. The exception would be the dog who relies on your husband to fill his life with erractic human behavior. The East Village Idiot should note that she may have been accidentally kicked by her son because: if Benjamin was pretending to be a WWI plane and you thought he was flying a Spitfire, a much faster WWII plane, you may have misjudged his landing velocity and you, expecting the WWII plane speed, were kicked in the face. Study your war planes, and your nose will recover while you forget all about your husband.

Milliner's Dream, a woman of many "hats"... said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that quote...when you have a son, motherhood is a contact sport. I also just told a friend--a single mum--how much I admire her. This was timely and fun to read!
Hh