While I Was Gone

I have been getting all kinds of grief for not writing over the last two weeks. The truth is, I have been writing up a storm...just not in this blog. I have been creating a body of work, roughly the size of War and Peace, which has sucked all of the creative life from my weary, keyboard numbed, hands.

I had to craft "THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL" on the Care and Keeping of My Four Children for Five Days. Now, the young woman we employed this past weekend to watch our kids (for 5 days/4 nights) is an extremely bright, engaging, responsible person, and is no stranger to our kids. Nevertheless, regardless of how responsible someone may seem, all bets are off when it's time to go solo. I have learned this the hard way, leaving my kids with my husband. When my oldest 2 kids were 2 1/2 and 8 months, I left to go to a wedding in Chicago for a weekend. I had pumped diligently for 2 months to have enough milk stored in the freezer for the baby. Now, admittedly, my husband is at a disadvantage not being the primary caretaker of the kids (and frequent business travel doesn't help) but when I returned to see all the milk (minus four bottles) still in the refrigerator, I about lost it. He had fed him a bottle in the morning and a bottle at night, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner (baby food and baby cereal) - with juice - in between. I'm not exactly sure to this day what he thought all that milk was for, or why he thought I spent so much time pumping (much less seeing the baby on my boob every 3 hours of every day of his life). Of course, the baby survived, there was no damage done, (he's now 6 1/2) but I learned a valuable lesson about information. More is better.

So I typed. And typed. Consulted my Outlook Calendar for activities, schedules, comittments. Googled the routes to and from the two different schools our kids currently attend. Found and printed a revocable power of attourney so that she could authorize medical care for the kids and got it notartized at the bank. Picked my brain for all possible activites should the weather be sunny, rainy, cold, or hot. Listed all the medications the kids could or should take and their dosages, along with whatever their most common ailments were (usually only occuring at bedtime) and how to remedy them. Provided names, addresses, home and cell phone numbers for a variety of relatives, friends, and neighbors, as well as the doctor and dentist, in case of emergency. Arranged for several sleepovers and playdates for 3 of the 4 kids (all of which were carefully detailed on my Daily Itinerary). And made a very, very detailed schedule of what and how to feed the baby.

At the end of the day, the kids had a blast with her and she took wonderful care of the children. They hardly missed us. Even more than that, when we got home Monday night, they were bathed, in bed sleeping, the house was clean, the laundry was done, folded, and in a pile outside of each of their rooms, and she'd already made their lunches for the next day at school.

And no, you cannot have her phone number.