Equity

The Hoos is going away for the weekend. This is unprecedented. The most either of us have been away from our daughters is for a single night - a handful of nights when LP slept at one of our parents' houses and my single, horrible business trip.

That is not to say that we are never alone with our children individually. The Hoos gets the girls up and out of the house without me around three days a week. I spend the afternoons and early evenings with them five days a week. He has occasional week-night work events and I have the occasional event or mom date. This will just be the first time that I am on my own for two consecutive days and nights.

By virtue of being mom, I spend more time with the girls. The Hoos works more and longer hours (and brings home more of the bacon). He does yard work and housework that necessitates not having children underfoot (gardening and kids sometimes mix, but not when your kids pick EVERY green tomato or pull each petal off each flower).

So, most weekends I do take the girls out alone for a bit - to the farmer's market, to the grocery store, the playground, on walks, but in the back of my mind I know that I will get some time to myself later in the day (usually nap time when AK is down and LP is awake but slightly more subdued).

If this was any other weekend, I would likely have packed the girls up and driven down to my parents house on Long Island for the weekend. Alas, my parents are visiting my brother and his family in California.

I am now in programming mode, trying to at least have a few planned activities for each day so the girls don't drive me crazy. In addition, even thought I usually keep AK home with me on Fridays, she is off to day care so I can run errands (and maybe even fit in a pedi) and have a little bit of time for myself.

We will survive (perhaps barely), I will be stronger for the experience. And, as my friend MLH says, I am banking points for a ladies day at the outlets. Then again, why do I need to bank time? Who decides what goes where on the balance sheet? Is it really equal in the first place?