Mommy's Gone

Oh man, is this going to be tough.

I just got back from the airport, where I said goodbye to my wife for a month. I never thought it would be this difficult. She's been away before, a week or two at a time. But I've been in familiar surroundings; had friends nearby, access to a babysitter. Now I'm in a city where I know four or five people, and not very well.

The house feels empty, even with my two boys. Mommy's absence is palpable. It's not like the days when she's at work, coming home by 4:30. She's gone for a month and I can feel it. It sucks.

I don't think the boys understand it just yet. They said goodbye at the airport, but I'm pretty sure they think she'll be home tonight. I'm not looking forward to bedtime, theirs or mine. In a word, it's lonely.

So I guess I must throw myself into this new reality full force. I must get out of the house, take the kids to the park and that kind of thing. Call the wife's colleagues, who have offered to help. Sontoo's swimming lessons tomorrow will be a good start.

So what else is new? Well, there's a Boil Water Advisory out in Thompson right now. Seems they have some trouble at the water treatment plant. No one is getting real specific on what the problem is, including the local newspaper, but they say it should be cleared up in four to six days. In the meantime, I have purchased a couple 18L bottles of water and am thanking my lucky stars we didn't sell the water cooler at the garage sale. Although I suspect a couple of potential buyers are kicking themselves.

Anyway, must get back to feeling sorry for myself and get over it. The next few weeks will, thankfully, be busy ones.