My wife left me this week. She took the kid, packed up the car, and left me here with the dog and a whole lot of free time.
In what's becoming an annual tradition, my wife and kid—along with my wife's mother—set off for a week's vacation on the east coast. I'm staying home to work, and upon hearing about this situation, many of my friends assume I must be living it up. A week of quiet evenings at home? A weekend of sleeping in? Isn't this what every parent dreams of?
I guess, maybe.
And hey, I'll admit, there's a certain niceness to not having a four-year-old being all four-year-oldy all over the house. No toys scattered about. No incessant demands for attention mixed with intermittent meltdowns. It's a freedom I haven't felt in years.
But mostly it sucks.
I'm bored. I miss my wife. I miss my kid. One of the reasons I grew to hate work travel was that I felt like I was abdicating my responsibilities every time I left home. Turns out parenting via webcam sucks just as much when you're alone at home as it does when you're on the road.
So, anyone wanna get a beer or something?
If you liked this, check out: "I'm A 34-Year-Old Married Dad Sleeping With A Student" and "When You Least Expect It ... Awesome Happens."
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