The Prayer of the Alone Mother...

You know those days where you say so many prayers to the Lord above, you think you must be the most religious person on earth...for the day at least? Yesterday was just one of those days.

You see, when Mr. Thurgood leaves town for his week long business trips (and no ladies, he's not supporting another family on the side...he's seen my karate chop moves & fears for his life) it is usually tantamount to a nervous breakdown.

I always wished I was one of those women who was like, "Oh, I didn't even notice you were gone!" but I'm not. I'm the one that is handing him the crying child as he walks through the door...grabbing the keys and going to WAL-MART just to get away...sad, I guess.

I am not ashamed to admit, though, that the man my children call Dad is an involved father in their lives. This is for many reasons, but most importantly because its what I feel my children need. No bad can come from this. As a matter of fact, I am trying ot think of a time when I've heard friends or neighbors growing up complain, "Man, I am so tired of my dad hanging out with me, taking me to do things with him, and finding common interests. I wish he would just ignore me like my other friends dad does so I can search for love in all the wrong places, perhaps join a gang, or start doing drugs." (Can you feel my inner drama queen coming out today?)

Anyway, so with Mr. Thurgood out of town, the children begin their roles of "children during a full moon" they've gotten it down to an art now and would rival any of the up and coming celebrties for best actor/actress.

Those of you who are left for hours, days, or (heaven help you) even weeks etc. husbandless know that when their gone the worst usually happens. Through hours of whinning, crying, accidents, vomitting, threats, timeouts, I found myself constantly praying, "Heavenly Father, HELP ME to have the strength to make it through this day"....deep breath.

So far, this has been my saving grace because we have had zero casualities! Last night the Lord sent my brother as an answer to my prayers. I must've passed out on the bed from sheer emotional exhaustion when I heard the garage door open and soon thereafter close. My first half-comotose thought was, "did I just sleep the week away? Is my husband finally home?" but then I jumped out of bed and looked out the window to see my HERO pulling bags of groceries out of his car! I quickly ran downstairs to move my car to one side of the garage (I tend to hog the garage, like the bed, when my hubby leaves town). Had I not been so delirious, I would have cried because I hadn't gone shopping this week and was starting to cook up some MIGHTY creative creations for the kids for meals :) I quickly started helping my brother unload the groceries, hoping I wouldn't really wake up from a dream, when I said to him, "Thank you SO much, I could kiss you right now." And the moment of truth that separated my dreamy state from reality...his angelic response, "Don't touch me." I was in heaven.

Somehow knowing that my brother was there to help, feed the needy, and listen to the poor (I started talking his ear off--so grateful to be conversing with an adult) made me a little more vigorous about getting up to face yet another day without Daddy.

So call me a wuss. I freely admit that I depend on my husband to be an active role in my children's lives. To come home, eat dinner with us, and play with the kids for an hour or two until we put them to bed together. Then enjoy our quite time etc. This somehow seems to work well for my family. And it sure produces a better variety in conversation with my Heavenly Father. :)