Trials of Mommydom

So my kids are supposed to be with their father for 6 weeks out of the summer. Never before has he actually taken this time with them. For some insane reason, this summer he decided to. Now, I would have fought this tooth and nail if he wasn't living with his mom. But, his mom's house is run much like mine - the rules and discipline and schedule is pretty much the same. So there's little adjustment between my house and hers. Unlike when he lived on his own. There were no rules, discipline or schedules to abide by. So two weeks ago, off they went...fully prepared to live with Daddy for 6 weeks. Within two days, they'd seen their father for 2 hours total and spent most of the time with Maw and Paw and their aunt, uncles, and cousins. Not a big deal. Well, the whole fam-damily was going out of town to the lake for the 4th weekend thru this past Sunday. Maw decided to take my kids with her - a bit of a sanity saver for her and for me. At least this way, we knew the kids would be fed, bathed and generally taken care of. Of course, this worked out great for their dad too, since he wasn't going to the lake. So the kids had a wonderful time for 10 days on the lake. Tubing, swimming, playing and just having fun. They got home Sunday and I received the first phone call - "We don't want to stay with Daddy. We want to come home. We miss you." As any normal (and some abnormal) parents can attest, this type of phone call will break your heart. But, being the fair parent I am (HA!) and needing the break from my children as badly as I do, I convinced them that their daddy wanted them to stay, and they'd have plenty of fun with him. Sunday night passes, Monday passes, Monday night passes, no word from my kids. I'm beginning to feel a bit more comfortable with the idea of them being with him for another month.

Til my phone at work rings at 9:30 AM. Between the 5 year old crying about how much she misses me, the 7 year old asking how our house was, and the tales of McDonalds, school, and what they were wearing...I came to realize that another month with their father was going to be damn near impossible. They are both wanting to come home - they miss the comforts of our house, of me, of their new stepdad, of their pets, and of their friends. *sigh* Do I cave in and allow them to come home, even though it could be construed as not following a court ordered visitation? Not to mention...I need this vacation from them. It's my un-Mommy time. Something I haven't had in over 7 years. Something I desperately want. And they need this time with their father. He hasn't exactly been the most upstanding, responsible parent, but he does care about them. And they do love him. And they have fun with him. And his mom takes care of them. :)

*sigh*

I never thought this would be easy, but I guess two weeks isn't too bad. Of course, this is the longest they've been away from me. And after a day or two, they'd probably be ready to go back to his house. Maybe I'll take them this weekend.