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Kids & Family

Calling in the Calvary from Nashville

With both Andy and I pulled away with work this week, we needed all-hands-on-deck to help with the kids.

 

Over the past 11 years of parenthood, Andy and I have perfected the carefully choreographed dance that allows us both to work full time and still get the children fed, dressed, off to school and the like. The beauty of this dance is that while it has taken years of practice and constant tweaking, we can score nines across the board in Dancing with the Stars, Parenting Edition.

That is... unless anything changes. Even the slightest deviation can send us crashing to the floor, no matter how inconsequential it may seem!

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This week I am writing from the beautiful city of Nashville, where I'm at a work conference from Monday until Thursday. And while the beauty of having two working parents both headquartered in Dedham is that there is most likely someone who can move a few things around to be there for the kids, a change in choreography like this one is major. Add to that that as the Nobles baseball coach, Andy is busy every day after school until at least 6:30 and we are left scratching our heads.

Time to call in the cavalry.

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In this case, the cavalry consists of:

  • 2 Grandmothers
  • 1 Grandfather
  • 1 Aunt
  • 1 Uncle
  • 3 Friends
  • 1 responsible neighbor
  • 1 Baseball Coach

The lead up to the business trip will most likely prove to be more work than the conference itself.

We have every day scheduled down to the minute, and on some days, more than half of the above list is involved. We've got friends picking up the elementary school kids and aunts and uncles picking up our toddler. Grandmothers swap out shifts like the changing of the Palace Guards, all carefully planned down to 15-minute increments. Even Ben's baseball coach has kindly offered to drive him to and from practices and games this week, should the weather hold out. I'm secretly hoping it rains until Thursday, and it's not to water the grass. A working mom needs a little help, am I right?

And so, the cabinets are bursting with snacks and pasta, cereal and canned goods and the freezer will hardly shut with all of the frozen pizza and meat I bought ahead of this week. Although I felt like one of the Doomsday Preppers, getting ready for the end of the world as we know it, I figured that making it easier on everyone.

Now if only I can remember to bring back gifts for everyone from the Country Music Capital, this week will be a success.
It takes a village, my fellow parents. Anyone who thinks they can do it all alone is insane.

And a special thanks to Mother Nature for all of the soccer and baseball rain-outs this week. She gets it; she's a working mom too.

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