Whats Gonna Work? Teeeeeeam Work!

I was talking to a couple of 'single with kids' friends the other day. We were discussing the pros and cons of actually having a partner. Now it is probably sensible to state in advance that I am lucky enough not to know exactly how it feels to not have one, but I have had many years of My Beloved working away from home for weeks, sometimes three a month then coming back for a weekend. 


I always refer to those days as being a single mum but without any benefits (i.e those every second weekends off). One friend argued that even then I was not actually lonely as I could talk to and share the dramas of the day via phone. The other was this delusion (in my opinion) that we get to work as a team. 


BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oooh sorry about that, I got a bit carried away for a second there. My beloved and I are a pretty good team, and by team, I mean two people doing their own thing at the same time in close proximity to each other.


 Take for example, weekend breakfasts when he has not been driving the night before. We work together like this. He will start cooking breakfast and I will take the younger one or two or seven kids to the local store to get the paper and my ice coffee. Usually lollies of some description are bought. Some for me and some for them. Daddy may even get a pie (yes I know he is cooking breakfast) but he likes the pies and we like the lollies. By the time we have arrived home breaky is done and we eat. I make the coffee and the bigger two wash up. We then spend at least an hour reading the papers and the kids watching the telly or running around the yard like total nutters. ( If he has been working than it is usually cereal for breaky occasionally I will make picklets, scrambled eggs or porridge... almost never in summer.) Feel free to judge. ;)


Weekday dinner? Sometimes My Beloved does dinner and whilst he has the bigger two or three helping, the younger ones are watching telly or in the bath (in Littlest Miss' case, napping) and I am drinking a hot beverage on the computer. But Usually it goes more like this... I am cooking, Littlest Miss is incredibly upset that I am cooking ( or playing happily with daddy or the girls) and everyone is watching TV. 


Packing for camping holiday? My beloved is shoving everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink into the 4wd and the trailer he made specifically for camping (it has a gas BBQ and a sink (a double sink no less)and assorted tool boxes welded to the sides and the tents and other 'things' are placed where ever they fit. He has the Man Child packing the backseats of the 4wd with the mattresses, camp chairs and beds and then tying all the fishing rods to the holders.


 Meanwhile I am complaining about the fact we are going camping and running around trying to make sure we have all the millions of things you need when you go camping. The important things that My beloved does not think about, like medicines, wipes, baby stuff, blankets and clothes, not the delusional 'Just three outfits and swimmers and a towel' bull, the stuff you ACTUALLY need. 


There is then the food packing which drives me crazy because I seem to have a real problem with using anything in my pantry for camping. I don't know, I must just think once you have gone to all that effort of buying food, putting it in the car, taking it out, sitting down and having a coffee to recover from the shopping trip, getting back up and putting it all away, you just should not have to pull it all out, pack it in the car then drive to some windswept 'holiday' destination, surrounded by sand, mossies, sand, people, sand and sand flies. Only to take it all out and put it in the 'shelter' you will be forced to endure for sometimes up to 6 weeks ( OK so more than likely 4, BUT STILL!!).


 Our team work comes to an end for a little bit while we have a god almighty row discussion about whether or not we can just buy some groceries on the way down or the day before! Soon everything is sorted and I have the poops, yes the poops... what you gonna do about it?


Then there is the team work of a school morning where My Beloved is out the door to visit his dad whilst that goes on. Or the yard work, where unless I have a new garden planned or a huge mess to clean on the inside. I suddenly 'have to go do something', somewhere.


There are so many instances where our team work is really in spite of the other person, yet it works well. Where I lack the ability or care factor (as I can do anything HE can do and better! ;p) My Beloved more than takes up the slack and vise verso.


 I really could go on with years and years worth of examples. But I wont. Though it has given me an idea to do a 'storytime' post once every now. Hmmmmmmmmmmm *gazes at the sky thinking...*




Yes, I will. I will share with you all the day the TV blew up. Mwhahahahahahaha. ;)