Sunday, May 26, 2013

An Armadillo Drinking a Beer...and other adventures

With another international business trip under his belt, we are pleased to announced that Dad is home.    Ok, the word "pleased" doesn't really do it justice. It's more like jubilant/thrilled/elated/triumphant/relived/emocionado!
And fist bumps don't do it justice, either.  This calls for some old school cabbage patch action.
 
Cabbage Patch Dance - a dance involving putting the hands together in the form of fists and moving them in a horizontal, circular motion.  - Wikipedia
 
Around here, we call it "churning butter".
 In order to explain this excessive display of excitement over Dad's return, let's rewind a little bit.  Two weeks ago, we moved to a new state far, far away from all familiarity.  Just as the last few boxes were being unpacked, Dad had to up and go to Mexico for work.  Adios! 
 
No problem.  Mom's done this solo parenting thing before.  It's just that before, I knew where all of my household belongings were.  I could find my way to the grocery store without getting lost.  And if I did need help, I knew all sorts of people to call.  And Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne would usually come stay and assist.  But this time...crickets...
 
Determined to prove I had the strength and fortitude of all of the independent women who do this single motherhood thing daily without a support system, I accepted the challenge.  And the girls were little dolls for the most part.  Even though things went pretty smoothly, I was eager for Travis to return on Friday.  That's when I got the call; the one that told me his flight out of Mexico had been delayed 8 hours...making it impossible to make his connection...meaning he wouldn't be home until Saturday...if the stars aligned and he could pull this off at the last minute...on a holiday weekend. 
 
Suddenly the week of solo parenting that had seemed so smooth when there was a definitive end in sight turned into I-can't-bear-one-more-hour-of-Merryn's-hurricane-force-destruction-and-I-can't-take-one-more-minute-of-Josie's-whining and the waterworks set in.  And I told him in no uncertain terms that he better find me something NICE in that airport duty-free shop.  Really nice.
 
He responded with an email featuring pictures of my choices:
 That's a no brainer.  The armadillo drinking a beer.  Duh!  It will look amazing on my mantle!  And just like that, I was reminded of exactly why I love this man.
 
Fast forward back to Saturday evening, after all the high fives, fist bumps, cabbage patching, and raising the roof, we pulled up to the airport and saw the most wonderful sight: Dad was finally home!
 Joy
 Love
 Happiness
 Eskimo Kisses
 And what may be my favorite picture EVER:
 Yes, that about sums it up right there.
 
I insisted upon going out for Mexican food since I'd spent the week hearing how incredible the food Travis consumed in Mexico was.
Being significantly closer to Canada than we are to Mexico, the area is truly lacking in authentic Mexican cuisine.  However, we found a place with a festive, family-friendly ambiance, mediocre food, and unlimited chips (isn't that the best part about Mexican restaurants anyway?) and we had a great time.  How can you help but have fun watching Merryn inhale that guacamole?!  Talk about finger lickin' good.
 
This morning, Dad reached into his laptop bag and pulled out the gift he had purchased for the girls:
It was a stuffed horse that looks exactly like our backyard neighbor, Mr. Ed!

 Seeing as how Dad only brought home one toy for two sisters, this was the perfect opportunity for the girls to showcase the fine art of sharing:
 Eh, we're going to have to work on that sharing bit...
 
Or maybe we won't.  Because upon closer inspection, Josie informed her Dad that this little horse was "Broken.  No Button.  Needs Batteries."  

"Back in my day, we did this..." and Travis proceeded to demonstrate hoof clomping noises and enthusiastic "neigh" 's. You know you're old when you start a sentence with "Back in my day..." Oh Travis!
It doesn't matter.  Josie was NOT convinced.  Looks like Merryn will have this faulty heap of disappointment all to herself.  Nice try, Dad.

 
I'd like to extend my utmost respect and admiration to all the single moms out there.  Hats off to you.  Special thanks to the compassionate lady who saw me struggling with the massive kid cart at Super Walmart.  As the storm winds threatened to send it flying while I was trying to unload my babies, she ran over to hold it steady for me, and she listened to me blabber on about how my husband was out of town and we ran out of milk and that's why I'm out here in this weather looking like a mess on the verge of tears with two toddlers in tow.  Even though this benevolent stranger will likely never read these words, that random act of kindness meant so much.
 
And last but not least, a great, big, bienvenida a casa to my husband, who better be sticking around for awhile if he knows what's good for him ;-)

4 comments:

  1. Your story about Travis and his crazy missed flight totally takes me back to last month when my hubs had issues trying to get home from Brazil. I personally think the dads are just trying to get an extra day of sleeping in if you ask me! Glad to hear he's finally home, safe and sound.

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  2. Your posts are always so entertaining! Being a single mom isn't as difficult as being a mom with a husband that is away on business. That would be so much more difficult since you are used to him being there. My son and I are used to it just being us so it's a way of life... But you and your girls are used to a team effort. Congratulations on staying strong! You are a great mom!

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  3. I trust he didn't bring home that armadillo drinking beer.

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  4. I love the way you write! Makes everything seem so funny, even if it wasn't that funny when it first happened. That picture of Josie laughing with her dad… you should submit it to the NDSS buddy walk video on Times Square! Is Gorgeous!

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