While the Prince is Away...

Today is the day that the Prince returns to our home.  He has been gone for 4 days and 8 hours... roughly.  While I would love to say, "While the Prince was away, the mice they did play", I would be completely lying to make a rhyme.

While the Prince was away, this working mom of many, kept up with the crazy schedule of teenage children, their work schedules, their sports activities, their laundry.  I made sure that they had food and drink at the appropriate times of the day, and evening snacks as well.  They bathed, they did homework (a lot of that was PAINFUL) as I feel like I have been in the 8th grade 6 times now if you count my personal stint there in 1983... We watered the lawn, checked the garden, took the trash to the curb.  We gathered the mail, we kept up with the dishes, we kept up with the dogs. We shared a few laughs, we shared a few shouts of frustration.  We exchanged text messages and phone calls, to make sure that we knew the whereabouts of one another at all times.  At the end of each day we all fell into bed exhausted.  (okay them probably not so much) But for sure I was...

At times like this, I am reminded to pray for all the single parents out there.  This parenting job is not for cowards.  It is not for the faint of heart, or for the timid.  Doing it alone, (even for as short of a time as I just endured) is hard work, it is like doing double time.  When you have a prince or a queen by your side, your burden is eased, your load lighter.  You have a helper.  I do not ever want to take my laundry doing, errand running, chauffeuring children, meal maker, boo-boo fixing, helper for granted.  I am blessed!  SO, single parents everywhere, hats off to you.  I pray that some day your children will see your sacrifices, and your commitment to them, however until then "Do not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:9

Welcome home to the Prince.  We purposefully left some crumbs on the counter, some leftover food residue on the stove top, the trash may or may not need emptied and the laundry switched over, all in an effort to make him feel like we can't manage without him...no really it was on purpose (wink, wink).