Wasting Time

Brandon left this afternoon for Istanbul.  He has a work training for a few days, so it's just me and the children until later this week.  It's a funny life we live, when my husband has some sort of training, and instead of going to Nashville or maybe Dallas he goes to... Istanbul.  The city that has a 1500 year-old church built by Justinian, someone who lived so long ago that most Americans don't even know who he is.

I think that Brandon might have been more excited if we hadn't just gone to Istanbul last year.  I'm not sure if he even plans on seeing the sights.  The irony is, of course, that I would love to spend four days doing amazing things like riding on a plane and maybe watching a movie all by myself, or eating meals without having to jump up and get drinks of milk or more soup or a napkin, or just reading a whole book without having to get up thirty times to send Edwin back to bed.  And of course he'd rather be here.  But maybe not by himself, with all four children, for four whole days.

We started off our time together well, with a nap for me and the boys while the girls played quietly in the toy room.  I fed them all cake for dinner/snack, and everyone got ready for bed quickly.  We cuddled up in my bed and read scripture followed by The Odyssey.

[Pause for plug about homeschooling.  I love that when I ask my four year-old if she wants to read The Odyssey for a bedtime story, she is thrilled, and my two year-old shouts 'Odsey! Odsey!'  There's nothing like those lotus eaters for good dreams.]

I got them into bed early, with all sorts of well-meaning plans to write in my journal, catch up on blog posts, and clean up the kitchen.  And then after that I'd practice the piano and get into bed nice and early to catch up on sleep.

I forgot to factor in, however, the internet.  Usually when Brandon is here, his presence is enough to prevent my soul being sucked into the vast, endless wasteland of the internet.  But when he's gone, my self-restraint seems to evaporate and I find myself looking for every single fourteen-inch child's bike available for sale on US websites.  And maybe some on the British ones, too.  You'd think that somebody would make something nice and gender-neutral for people who actually plan on using the bike for more than one child.

And so here I am, at 9:24, sitting alone in a dark room illuminated only by the glow of my twenty four-inch iMac.  Hopefully I can get to bed soon.  Wish me luck.