Sometimes I Need to Remember

Since I got married, I've been introduced to the world of the unemployed. It's been a nice experience once I got past the whole financial dependence issue. I enjoyed having my own money and not having to consult on major purchases. It was a difficult transition, but I've adjusted well. Now, I work for something to do and for the extra pocket money. Actually, the pocket money is diverted to a saving account that one day will be enough to afford a two-week safari in Africa.

As of late, I've been working full time. One of the ladies at the Provost Marshal's Office took four weeks of leave. That's a pretty good paycheck for me. Kenya just got a little bit closer. But there is a down side to working full-time. Kids.

My children are 17 and 15 years old. And like most teenagers, they are blind to dirt. My house has suffered tremendously in my absence. Dust has caked on every surface, fingerprints have multiplied, dirty dog footprints tracked on the hardwood floors and the dust bunnies have unionized. I'm lucky to get my children to take out the trash and vacuum every other day. Anything more than that is a blessing.

After work, I have to get to the gym for at least an hour, else I'll balloon up. Wouldn't my husband be surprised when returning from Iraq and discovering his wife has mutated into Jabba the Hut? I certainly don't want that to happen. After the gym, I come home and try to take care of the mail and all the necessary paperwork that comes with running a household. Just sorting my mail, from his mail, deciding what he'll need, what I can take care of, and putting the bills in due date order, takes time. Then, I have to figure out which bills have to be paid in euros and which ones in dollars, do the conversion and balance the checkbook.

Add on top of that monitoring the children's behaviors and determining what rules they fractured during the day, feeding and watering three dogs, picking up general stuff, getting stuff put where it belongs and making sure there is bread and milk available sucks up most of my time. I save the bigger housecleaning tasks for the weekend. Wait....weekend....that gets filled toting my kids back and forth to all the places they need to be. My son, although he's 17, he doesn't have a driver's license because we live in Germany.

Single parents have a rough situation. I eagerly await my husband's return. I really need his help with rearing the children. I struggle to make the time to keep up to date with what's going on in their lives. It's difficult to do. Ultimately, something suffers in a single parent household. Be it the house, be it the parent's health, be it the children. There just isn't enough hours in the day to allow for everyone's needs to be met. It's an unfortunate situation.

Although I complain about my children being selfish and not contributing to the household as well as they should, they are pretty good kids. My son keeps reminding me that he isn't selling drugs, hasn't been arrested and hasn't gotten some girl pregnant. My daughter has straight A's in school and isn't pregnant. I am thankful for that. I know other parents out there who struggle with the day to day things and have children who are robbing people and breaking into homes. I can't imagine piling on court fines, restitution, court dates, probation officer appointment dates, meetings with school principals, phone calls from police, pregnancy and substance abuse on top of everything else. My children don't self-mutilate nor are they destructive. I don't have holes punched in the walls of my home and my children do come home at night.

I have to remember that my situation could be worse. I don't have it that bad.