Hubby-less

This week Eric has abandoned us for "team building" exercises in Virginia. It's not often that Eric goes out of town for work. In fact, last time he went, he was still on dialysis (and had to carry the 40 pound dialysis machine through the airport!). Since I'm the only driver in the family, and Eric's low vision keeps him from doing lots of "guy" things, it really is very rare that we aren't all together, all the time.

One of the facts of our life together is that, most likely, I will be a young widow. While I don't plan to say goodbye to Eric anytime soon, we probably don't have multiple decades left together (on earth). When we were planning our family we had to be very real about how I would support the kids if he were to leave us before they were grown. All this to say (as morbid as it sounds) when it's just me and the kids I can't help but see it as a tiny "practice" for when a time that it might just be me and them.

Can I meet their needs on my own? Can we do everything we need to do in a week? Can we keep the house clean?! Can I be the loving leader they need me to be? Will I go crazy without my spouse to take over when I feel overwhelmed? This week has gone well. We certainly miss "the daddy!" But all in all, it's been oddly fun to have my kids all to myself for a bit.

Today our Epic teacher came by for our monthly visit. She is a super creative person. She brought a Pumpkin Patch Village (she made herself) for the kids to play with. That kept them occupied while we discussed individual learning plans for the kids.

Taevy is pretty good at crochet now, so she asked the teacher to help her learn how to knit!
The first truly cool front of the year came in yesterday. We are LOVING it! The heat went on for the first time this morning. Jackets are required outside. And for Taevy, it means cuddling up in crocheted goodness from head to toe!
What would the perfect fall day be without poking at a dead baby squirrel? We turned this into a science lesson, homeschoolers that we are. "Kids, see how the worms are eating away the dead flesh?!" =-)

Eric comes home Friday morning. He has been much missed this week, even though we've had a good time, just the kids and I. Last night it was like Kendi realized he was gone. She said, "Mommy, we can't go to sleep without daddy!" I said, "Well Kendi, he's not coming home tonight. What do you think we can do?" She said, "We have to go and get him right now! THAT is what we can do Mommy!"

Love,

Anita