What it’s like with just one… when you’ve got two

Brogan is spending the first part of his spring break with his grandparents at the beach… which means Blake and I are parenting for one for five days. Experiences like this are a testament to perspective and relativity. When I just had Brogan, just about every day with him felt like a full-time job – there was no rest for the weary.  And now that I have two – I still can’t catch a break. But, when you’ve gotten used to two, and then go back to one, oh my goodness it’s like a vacation!  It just proves that everyone measures their current situations against their own past experiences. I would have never thought on my wits-end days with Brogan that one day, when compared to the madness of two, parenting one would just be easy.

Beckett is a little perplexed about where “Bubba” is… he walks around, says his name with an inflection in his voice that says where’s bubba and I tell him that he’s with Nonna and Bop Bop. He’ll then say, “Ohhhh, Bubba, No No, Bop Bop, m’kay”. And then I suppose he either forgets – or likes our dialogue – because we’re right back to the Bubba question before you know it.  But don’t go feeling bad for Beckett – oh no, he’s loving life as the only one.  He’s had two parents one-on-one and you can tell that it has filled his little sail! This evening he was running around the background like he owned the place.  He’s also not competing for toys. You know how that goes, as soon as he goes to play with something, Brogan finds an interest and then the fighting ensues. But this week, Beckett has free reign to everything and he’s loved it. It’s been his place around here.

Since Brogan has been gone, the house has been cleaner and quieter. There’s been less arguing and it’s just been easier.  But I don’t think easy ever lead to anything great. And so while a break every once in a while is healthy, I love my crazy life. I love being on my toes, being challenged, being stretched too thin. I love seeing the boys interact with each other; I love the teamwork that takes place when Blake and I have to divide and conquer. I love hearing my little charmer tell me, “this is the best dinner EVER!” I miss my little guy terribly. I miss hearing his crazy stories and his thoughts on life. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been loving my special time with Beckett, but I’m the mommy of two boys and my life’s not quite complete without them both.

And I fully recognize that I’ll be eating my words by later this week.