School Days - Part I

This fall we've had some pretty big changes in the lives of our family and this fall marked the start of a whole new adventure for all of us.

I feel like Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride" when Westley wakes up after being mostly dead:

Inigo: Let me explain [pause] No, there is too much. Let me sum up. 

- At the end of November 2013, while I was on maternity leave, Mr. Happy, also known as Andrew, was laid off from his job.
- When I went back to work in May, Andrew became a SAHD. Daycare on one income & EI payments didn't make financial sense. He was home with the boys from the beginning of May, job searching between diaper changes.
- We found out that one of the local community college campuses was offering a 22 week accelerated program in a course he had been interested in taking.
- Andrew applied for the course, got accepted, took a couple of prerequisite courses and thanks to a retraining program offered by the government, tuition is taken care of. Woo to the hoo!

School started the first full week of September for three out of the four people in our house.  Andrew started at the Community College, the Mogrunt started in Grade Primary* in the French Immersion program, and the Bunny started daycare.

To say that I was anxious about how our lives were going to change in the fall would have been an understatement. Some members of our family have to be awake closer to 6am in order to get everyone out the door on time.

In the past, before kids, I would roll out of bed at 7:30am to catch the bus at 7:45am. On days that I drove, I would roll out of bed as late as 8am and leave for work at 8:10am for an 8:30am start time (It takes 10 minutes for me to drive to work.)  I am a low maintenance person. I shower every other day and hate the weeks where my shower days fall on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Let me be clear about this: We are not morning people. We do not function well as a team before 8am. We are also bad at getting ready to go places as a group. If one of us leaves the house alone, not a huge problem. As a group, we are a disaster of hurrying, hollering, and harried people. We forget stuff and have to go back to the house multiple times. Someone forgets to brush their teeth. Someone poops in their diaper just as we are about to leave. *eyes the baby* Someone melts down.

(See? Disaster! First day of school at the bus stop and the Bunny has no shoes on his feet!)

Andrew's course, as it turns out, is from 2:30pm to 9:30pm every week day. This has been both a good and bad thing for us.

Good:

He's there in the morning to get breakfast for the kids while I get ready and make lunches. He usually puts the Bunny in his car seat and then walks the Mogrunt to the bus stop. I then run out the door behind them, purse in hand, coat trailing behind me as I jump in the car and drive to the Bunny to daycare before going to work. Inevitably, I eat breakfast at my desk.

Andrew then spends part of his morning tidying the house, doing dishes, throwing in loads of laundry, and studying for his course. I am eternally grateful that he is a not only handsome, but handy as well. *wink to Red Green*

Bad:

At the end of the work day, I pick up the Bunny from daycare then head down to the Mogrunt's school to pick him up from the after school program. By the time we are all in the car together, headed home, it is usually about 5pm. We arrive home to rustle up supper, play a bit, do some tidying, read stories and head for bed. Without Andrew. All week.

We miss him awfully during the week, but are happy to have him around on the weekends. Life is much easier when I manage to get meals ready in advance, but I'm going to be honest, it's not gourmet at our house these days. There are plenty of nights when we eat scrambled eggs and toast for supper. 

I really don't know how single parents or spouses/partners of those in the military do it. Working all day and then coming home to look after the boys isn't easy. I've been exhausted - it seems that transitions exhaust me - so I often fall asleep with the boys. The Bunny sleeps in our bed and tends to wake if I try to sneak him into his crib so I can go downstairs. As a result I often allow myself to skip extra housework and instead, succumb to dreamland.

I have to keep reminding myself that it is only temporary. It's only 6 months, right?