Ty and I batched for a few days this week while Leah and her dad were off on a three-day school field trip to Mountain School at the North Cascades Institute near Diablo Dam. (Turns out while we were experiencing downpours in town, they were doing okay in a mini-rainshadow.)
The school felt a little quieter without all the fifth graders. I kept hearing younger kids saying “I can’t wait to go to Mountain School.” This particular field trip has taken on a mythology all of its own with the kids.
Meanwhile the livin’ was easy with parenting one child. Wow. Being a family of two was…quiet. I did enjoy spending so little time on preparing dinner, but I’m not sure I’d want it all the time. The house felt a tad hollow. One night Ty and I watched the new National Treasure 2 movie—completely uncharacteristic for our family as we never watch feature-length movies on weeknights.
And although Ty said he liked Leah being gone, I noticed a distinct energy shift in him when she got home. “Leah, hey Leah,” I would hear him call from across the house. All of a sudden, he was perkier. Before, there was just me, and he bumbled around the house at loose ends, unable or unwilling to articulate that hanging out with just Mom was kind of, um, boring. Nothing like having someone around to antagonize.