I can do this… I think I can do this… Can I do this?

“Mommy, I have a question.” she says to me as we settle down in her room for the night. She’s had a bath, has fresh PJ’s on and has her head lying on her little sheep pillow.

“Ok, Ry, shoot.” I respond with a smile and a bit of a chuckle. {where does this kid come up with this stuff!?}

She sits up on her knees, looks me square in the eyes and says “So, how was your day?”

I pause for a quick second and actually think about it. I tell her I had a great day and ask her if she knows what my favorite part of it was.

“No, Mommy, what was your favorite?”

“My favorite part of my day was the special night we had tonight. We played ball outside… We laughed a lot… We ate ice cream… We read books… We had fun tonight, didn’t we?”

She smiles and says “yea…” lays her head down on the pillow then taps the bed right next to her and says “One more minute…”

As I lay there I think, I can totally do this.

This time next week Andy will be on his way to Alaska for his EPIC Alaskan Fishing trip with his dad and best friend. So while he’s off traveling the great state of AK for an adventure of a lifetime, I will be playing the single mom role.

With nights like last night it’s easy to think, “pshhh, this will be nuthin’!”

But then…I think back to Saturday. Oh how easily it all comes back to me.

The crying.
The screaming.
The hitting.
The timeouts.
More crying & screaming.
The anger.
The frustration.

The overwhelming feeling that I’m an awful mother who can’t even handle her own child.

Can I really do this? By myself? For 12 whole days?

Last night was great. Maybe it’s all mental? I was “ready” to have a fun night with just Rylee and me. Maybe it was the promise of ice cream after dinner?

By no means am I any sort of expert in the way of parenting, but here’s what I do know:

I am going to go into next week with a smile on my face and a freezer full of ice cream.

4 thoughts on “I can do this… I think I can do this… Can I do this?

  1. karey

    You've got this. Really. But yes, ice cream ALWAYS helps.

    I've been doing the "single mom" bit off and on for the last 5 1/2 years (granted, I don't have to actually leave the house if I don't want to – and that makes it much easier, but still…) and attitude makes SUCH a big difference (mine, not necessarily the kids'). Just take it one day at a time and keep your freezer stocked. ;)

    If you need ANYTHING, I'm right down the road – and I'd LOVE to help out (you know, making a Ray's run for the goods or something). ;)

    Reply
  2. Lilmissrysmama

    Thanks Karey! I have so much admiration for you! You do such a great job with the kiddos w/ Jeff being gone as much as he is. You're rockin it with 3 kids and I'm freaked out with just one!

    Breath in….breath out…one day at a time. I got this! :)

    Reply

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