My wife's been out of town for three days. The kids and I miss her very much for a wide variety of reasons. Her smile, her hugs, her warm words, her errands, her cleaning, her schedule-keeping. Get the picture? Without Terry here, the kids and I slip into "bare necessities" mode. As long as there is un-expired milk in the fridge and pizza at the door, I'm happy and so are the boys.
The good news is, I know my wife will return. At 6:19pm Friday evening to be exact, not that anyone is counting.
For the single parent, help often doesn't arrive at a scheduled time. Nor is the help "guaranteed" like when there are two parents in the picture. I've had friends throughout the years that raised kids on their own, and I can't imagine greater heros in our daily midst. Some people parent alone, meaning their spouse doesn't provide a whole lot of help. Others parent individually due to tragedy, love lost or because they choose to.
You probably know a single parent. The holidays are a great time to offer a helping hand to these heros. Even if it's just a few hours of childcare so they can have some time to themselves, the brief respite is a marvelous present. And you don't even have to wrap it!
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Great post Mike. As a US Navy Submarine Veteran I appreciated times when I was home and my wife had some commitment that afforded her the opportunity to get away. It gave me a window into what it was like when I was deployed an left her effectivly a single parent for several months at a time a couple times a year. And with 4 kids under 6 years old that was no small feat.
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