I Can't Do This!

I slept on the couch last night in order to leave the bumpy bed to the children.  They can't fall out of it because of the rails, and it is big enough for both of them to thrash around without running into each other too much.  When the alarm rang at 5:30 this morning, I was up.  So were the kids.  I took them to their other grandparents' house in their pajamas, and supplied clothing, etc., for Ryan...then took off for school.  (I got permission from the principal to be late for Success Period both today [Thursday] and tomorrow.  It gave me a little extra time.)

The arrangement that I had made with the other grandparents was that, if they would watch the children during the day, I would take them for the overnights--which seemed fair.  Judy and Phil actually would have them for longer, but would have their peace and quiet in the evenings.  The overnight deal would work well for me, too, except that I have to get up and get to work...  Today was a busy one at school, made worse by the fact that the 8th grade team's entire preparation period was taken up with a parent conference.  I went over my grade edit sheets just after school, then headed for home.  I got an hour's nap in before 5:00, and that helped me survive the rest of the day.

I went to the other grandparents' for supper and to retrieve the children.  Ryan was dead-asleep in a chair.  Grandma Judy sent his supper home with us because he totally missed the meal!  Judy was coming down with a cold and had a touch of laryngitis, so she didn't go to choir practice.  I think I had the kids out of there by 6:45 so she could get some rest.  They had taken the children to see Charlotte's Web, but I guess they both fell asleep in the theater for parts of it.  I'll bet Judy and Phil had wished they could have, too!

When we got home, the kids played with Playdough for awhile.  Ryan totally devoured the food that was sent home for him.  Robin snacked on pretzels, apple slices, and raisins all evening.  Oh...and they both had popsicles.  There was the usual amount of shenanigans.  Robin got spanked once for biting her brother...and Ryan had to be removed from the bathtub for splashing water in Robin's eyes.  The usual stuff...  What was frustrating about the bathtub deal was that, since Ryan had had a late night, I settled Robin into bed and put Ryan in the tub.  The next time I turned around, ROBIN was in the tub, too!  (Hadn't planned on  that!)  I lost my cool a couple of times...to the degree that Ryan called me "bad grandma".  It was easily 11:15 before they were asleep--Robin before Ryan.  When I went in to check to make sure they were conked out, I noticed that Ryan was asleep holding Robin's hand.  Since she fell asleep before him, I know he reached out to her.  It was sweet--and made me feel like a horrible person to get so upset at the little angels!

I'm still up, but not for long.  I need my own quiet time, so couldn't just go to couch (that's like going to bed, only without the bed!) until I had a chance to unwind.  I have to be up early again in order to get the children over to the other grandparents for Day Two of this drill.  I can't do this much longer!  I have had zero time for myself since before Christmas, and it is beginning to wear on me.  No one is more devoted to his/her grandchildren than I...but I'm not in control of their schedule with the split-shift grandparenting going on. 

I guess God, in His infinite mercy, gave me only one child for a reason.  (My former husband already had two by his first marriage, so he wasn't interested in more...and considering his parenting track record, I was okay with that.)  Still, how did I do it all?  I took care of the house (cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry), the kid....and worked outside the home.  I even managed some creative projects in there.  But here I am, 20-something years later, a single grandparent, wondering how I am going to get through the next 2-3 days. 

I have one thing to say:  Megan and Nathan owe their parents, BIG TIME!