What My Wife Can Do

My little family spends all its free time together. Suzanne, Maryn, Avery, and me -- the four musketeers. Suzanne and I have such demanding schedules that, when we do get time to spare, we like to spend as much of it as possible with the girls and each other. This means when we need a jug of milk from the store, rather than it being a quick errand run by one person, it becomes a family enterprise. We all pile into the van, we all drive to Kroger, we all head for the dairy case. You get the idea.

So, because of this tendency to more or less always be together, it feels really strange to be without Suzanne. It just feels awkward and incomplete. It isn't as though the world comes to an end and we all just lay around in our beds lamenting her absence - it's just that nothing's really as fun without her. Things don't feel as permanent or lasting without her here. We have fun experiences but it's almost like they don't count because she's not here to share them. Does that make sense? I assume those of you with spouses and significant others know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I'm more or less capable of feeding, clothing, bathing, and entertaining the girls on my own but in the three days we've been without Suzanne, I've just been struck by how much she does and how well she does it.

I've determined that her mind is just a lot more complicated and active than mine is. Maybe it's just a male/female thing but I seriously can only do one thing at a time. I can only think about one thing at a time. I can make dinner but I can't worry about getting Maryn her medicine until after dinner is done and cleaned up. (And half the time, once I get to that point, I've forgotten the medicine anyway.) I can bathe the girls but I can't remember that there's laundry going that needs to be switched to the dryer. I just sort of wander through the day noticing things that I meant to finish.

What Suzanne can do is the task at hand AND be cognizant of what needs to be done next. She remembers stuff like permission slips, dentist appointments, and the fact that the girls already had chicken nuggets for lunch yesterday and, therefore, should not have them for lunch again today. She does a lot -- more than I really appreciate or regularly give her credit for.

So, Suzanne, I know you're reading this while sitting in your cube. You probably just finished your morning granola and yogurt concoction and are going through your blog roll because there isn't much work to do. Maybe you're wondering about that gift basket fundraiser that no one wants to help with. Whatever you're doing, just know that we miss you and we're looking forward to being together again next week. I appreciate everything you do.