This afternoon Marty came home early, but rather than doing a "family activity" like we have been doing the last few weeks, he took Peter on a campout that Marty's brother had invited them to. It was just for fathers and sons, and we've never taken the kids camping before, so we thought it would be a great chance for Peter and Marty to spend some one on one time outside. They didn't stay the night, so they're back already, and it went as well as things can go with a two year old in the woods. Marty has some appointments tomorrow morning and we didn't think Peter would sleep very well anyway, hence skipping the sleepover part of camping. That doesn't quite count does it? Ah well.
While Marty was gone I went to go find some better running shoes and brought Carolyn with me. It turns out that I needed to get a mens' size because my feet didn't have quite enough wiggle room in the women's sizes, and men's running shoes don't do much to help my feet look dainty and petite. I was also a little bummed not to be able to get some of those cute, highlighter color shoes. I love those. Waaaa waaa waa. They apparently don't make those for men, in my size, with special structure to prevent pronating. Go figure. On the plus side, they do feel lovely to run on.
It was nice to have the whole afternoon and evening just Carolyn and I, it made the evening feel especially relaxing. I've started to notice a trend in my mood over the last few weeks. Sunday through about Tuesday I am in really good shape- happy, motivated, productive, patient... but by the time Friday rolls around, I have noticed that I've been cranky the last several weeks in a row. I think Sundays rejuvenate me because Marty is home all day and church is uplifting and it's just a good day. Those juices of goodness apparently run out by Fridays.
I wonder if there's something better that I can do on Wednesdays or Thursdays to "juice me up" for another day or two of no Marty around. Even though Friday afternoons are our family activity time, it's not a very relaxing day, it's meant more to be a good experience for the kids than for mom to relax. Marty usually has to work until the last minute, so I try to get everything we'll need for an outing all squared away before he comes home, get the kids fed and anything else that needs to happen so that we can head out as soon as he gets home. There are only small windows of successful outing time with two little ones, you see. I call them my time bombs and you get about a three hour maximum before they're likely to "go off" any minute.
Fridays must still help to some degree, because Saturdays are not always as bad as Fridays, even though Marty is usually still working most or all of the day. Today was extra nice for me because I got to have more of a relaxing evening at home when Marty had the hard work of taking a child on an outing. Maybe tomorrow will be a good Saturday. Happy Pre-Mother's Day to me!Labels: Family, Motherhood, Personal Growth