Karissa’s parents have decided to sell the Wisconsin house they bought in 2012. The housing market is pretty hot and they don’t spend the 5-7 months/year there anymore and don’t see that changing in the future. So Karissa and her mom went up alone to get the house decluttered and staged for photos…and then to be listed for sale.
That means the kids and I get to spend 10 whole days and nights without Mommy! Our plans include eating junk food and watching movies.
But first, Karissa and Adelaide had a little mini-date night/send off:
After Thursday night and a normal Friday, we filled out weekend by playing mini golf at a new place, eating “Louisiana style” snow cones, and buying new sunglasses at Goodwill. We even picked up some pizza on the way home. We had a lazy Sunday in the pool, visited the dog park, and just hung out. It was a really good weekend.
That’s when the photos stopped and the hectic-ness of being a single parent became my reality. Waking Emerson up to bring Adelaide to school was not fun. We barely made it on time each day! I’d let Emerson watch TV while I worked a partial day before taking him to school. A few hours of quiet work before going to pick up Adelaide, wait in the parking lot for 20-30 minutes before getting Emerson, and coming home to let them watch TV again while I wrapped up my day. We fell asleep together in bed while I watched shows they dislike (Seinfeld) and got ready to do it again. Karissa couldn’t get home fast enough!
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Karissa and her mom made great progress. They were greeted by traditional grey skies of the Midwest and experienced temperatures well above the temps down here in Florida. They got to visit Menards, the best home improvement store on Earth, many times!
It was a long week for all of us – and we were excited to reunite! The kids collapsed after a week of junk food, sugar, and staying up too late. And couldn’t be more excited to pick up Mommy at the airport the next day!
We decided to eat at BurgerFi on the way home, it was pretty great, and the kids were beyond excited to see their Mommy. It was the longest they’ve ever gone without seeing her – probably the longest any of us have gone without each other since Adelaide was born.
The moral of the story is that being a single parent is difficult – but we all play our part in achieving goals and helping. Karissa’s mom NEEDED help from Karissa. Karissa enjoyed a kid break. And we’re excited to be reunited.
Karissa is starting a raw foods diet to detox after 10 days of eating and drinking junk. We’ll be having HUGE salads and lots of veggies. It’ll feel good to eat “real” foods on purpose again!