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| Day One. Going To Work With Daddy |
Being that I have never left Ollie for more than a few hours at a time, I was convinced he would have a terrible time
without me, or at the
very least, meltdown at bedtime. Nope. Not a tear. In fact, FTD said he would
just say, “nite-nite, daddy,” and off they went to Ollie's room for rock-a-bye before getting in his crib.
WHAT THE HELL?
No tears? All
smiles? Easy to put to sleep?
If I
did not see his happy little face and hear his cheerful sweet voice every time I
called, I wouldn’t have believed it...
I on the other hand, would tear up when I heard his voice. I would
even tear up from the sound of FTD’s voice. I missed the hell out of my boys!
And when FTD would send happy waving photos, I would miss them more!
I never doubted for a minute that FTD would do great while I
was away, I just didn’t think it would be THAT great! In one day they went to for a walk in the wagon, to the park to play on the swings and slides, to see our new house, and even went to the airfield to watch the Cessnas and private jets fly in and out; all while keeping Ollie fed and hydrated. Way to go FTD!
So, get this... FTD was not the only dad who was stoked I went away for the weekend. Every other dad I encountered shared how they wished their wife would go away too! I'm not kidding. It was bizarre... EVERY dad I talked to said pretty much the same thing...
“Good for you, it’s good that you got away! I wish my wife would go away too…”
“I would love to have the kids to myself for the weekend.”
"My wife needs to get away. She is 100% focused on the kids, and it's not good."
ALL of my conversations with the dads I encountered went just like that. Seriously.
From an executive at the Continental Proving Grounds, to the room service guy at
the hotel (He brought my breakfast twice while I was Skyping with FTD and
Ollie) to a test operator, to the guy
sitting next me on one of my flights; ALL of the dads agreed that they wanted their
wives to take a break, get away and let them do their dad thing for a weekend.
Throughout the conversations with the dads, one thing really
stuck out, the dads were desperate for their wives to step back, release a
little control and take their 100% undivided focus off the kids. It seemed to me, the dads just wanted their
wife to relax, recenter and come back to see that life goes on when they are
not there micromanaging the house.
I have to admit, this trip away was certainly an eye-opening
experience for me. Even though I was POSITIVE that Thing1 and Thing2 were going to have a hard
time without me for the weekend... I couldn't have been further from the truth. Ollie went to sleep on time, had great meals and a blast with his rad-dad. FTD went to sleep on time, had great meals and had a blast with his rad-son.
Me going away for a couple of days was so incredibly healthy for
my family. I have come back relaxed, feeling re-centered and realize I do not need to micromanage everything. Needless to say, I am so proud of my
husband. He did such an amazing job. In the future, I will not hesitate to go away for a couple days. Even though I will miss them like crazy, I am comforted knowing they are having a wonderful time together.
Attention Micromanagement Moms, take a weekend off! Your husband and kids will thank you for it. Don't believe me? Go ask them...
(Tomorrow for Top 10 Tuesday... Top 10 Moments of my weekend away! A helicopter, race cars, hydroplanes, skeet shooting and the Alamo are all on the list-- the post is PACKED with photos and videos!)
