Up until recently I would have Erin at home with me all day for 7 days a week while John works full time. I did go back to work for a bit when Erin was 9 months old and got an evening job in a supermarket but it really wasn’t for me so I quit after about 10 or 11 months to be self-employed and stay at home.
Some days with Erin are absolutely wonderful and I love every minute of being at home with her. Some days with Erin are so incredibly stressful and hard, especially on days where she decides she doesn’t want to nap in the afternoon. Some days I am on constant countdown for when John comes home because I’m either about to tear my hair out, cry, or go insane from watching Moana for the millionth time. We all have bad days with our children and while it’s okay to feel like that, we all need a break too!
John isn’t the best at letting me know when he’ll be coming home from work. I do email him throughout the day but sometimes he just doesn’t know and it depends on how the day has gone. However, some days he will tell me quite early on how he’s getting home and what sort of time it will be. On those days, I clock watch!
Then the email of doom comes.
Something has gone wrong at work or John has gotten caught up in something and he won’t be home at the time he says he will. My heart sinks. I realise that I have to do dinner on my own. I realise that I have to probably do both bath and bed time on my own as well. It’s just a horrible feeling.
While that email of doom hits my inbox I must let out the most massive sigh.
Some mornings John doesn’t see Erin before he goes to to work, especially if he leaves the house at 7am. If he ends up being late home it sometimes means not seeing Erin before she goes to bed either. On days where Erin is at nursery she’s normally fast asleep by 5:30 because she doesn’t nap there so usually, these days John always misses her now. This is a busy time of year for John at work and there are plenty of late finishes, some of which are past 7pm! I hate that he misses out on seeing her sometimes and I know how sad he gets about it.
How do you cope when you’re really looking forward to some extra help and something unexpected happens? Let me know in the comments!