My Wife, Her Absence, & My Gratitude

The last two days have been different here around the house.

Why?

Well, my wife is attending a ladies conference in a neighboring state.

In her absence, my gratitude has gone up several notches. She does so much for our family on a daily basis. Things that were unknown to me, until she is gone and I had to deal with them.

Her days are consumed with the little things. The little things that keep a home together and running. Her exhaustion around supper time is now understandable, since I have now experienced it firsthand.

Lessons learned the last few days:

-Homeschooling takes a lot of time.
-Preparing, serving, eating, cleaning up, washing & putting the dishes away takes a lot of time.
-Getting going in the morning takes a lot of time.
-Going anywhere with three kids takes a lot of time.
-Falling asleep after a long day doesn't take a lot of time.
-I now have a greater respect and understanding of what it must be like for single parent homes with small children.

So Kristi, I know you already know this, but I love you and missed you this past weekend. Hope you had a much deserved time away from us and with close friends. Sorry if things aren't put away in all the right places. Speaking of that...Ben wore his jeans on backwards all day yesterday. I noticed it finally late in the afternoon at the mall. No wonder all the moms were looking at me funny while the kids were playing at the play area. I probably had a sign around my neck that said, "My wife is away...please help".

I must run...the Chow Mein is burning on the stove!