everybody leaves and I expect as much from you

Noah left yesterday to join his parents in The Land of Sunshine and Warmth while the rest of us freeze our tails off in this so-called spring weather. (I’m honestly not bitter about it, I’m just stating facts.) There was a blizzard yesterday and the day before that AND THE DAY BEFORE THAT. It’s snowing today. Blizzards are supposed to happen in the WINTER. But, since winter started two months early, I expect it will end two months late, too. I mean, why would the calendar seasons line up with the actual seasons?

I think the calendar should be a little more accurate, like, per region. As in, in Saskatchewan, Winter would start in October and end in April. Spring would be May and June. Summer would be July and August. Fall would be September. At least it wouldn’t lead us on to think that “spring” actually meant “warmth” or “above-freezing temperatures” or “melting snow” because IT DOES NOT.

It’s a good thing the kids and I are heading to BC in a week to experience some real spring weather. We leave the day Noah gets back, but we miss each other by a couple hours, which means that I’m doing an 18-day single-parenting stint. Thankfully, it’s broken up with a road trip and the kids will have grandparents around both here and in BC. Thank God for grandparents. And portable DVD players.

It’s when Noah’s away (or, like this past weekend, when he’s sick) that I realize just how much he does around here. I mean, I know he does a lot, but it’s not till I have to do it all myself that I realize how good I have it.

I actually like time alone with the kids, though. I mean, I prefer having another parent around, don’t get me wrong, but it’s fun once in a while to have it just me and the kids, and we’re getting a lot of experience this year. Noah’s already been away for work twice since January, so we’re basically pros. The fact that I get to take off for about a week and a half in June is one of the things that is keeping me sane. Although I know I’ll be filled with anxiety the entire time because I’ll miss those little goobers.

Noah’s takeoff didn’t exactly go as planned yesterday. I dropped him off at the airport at about 1pm for his 3pm flight, which was delayed for two hours, then cancelled. And it was NOT because of the weather, which was quite calm at that point. Then he got to stand in line for two hours to book a new flight. The people in front of him were walking away with hotel vouchers and flights for SATURDAY. Both he and I had ranted on Twitter, and apparently that made a difference, or maybe it was because he was flying by himself and most other people were travelling as a pair, but he miraculously got a flight to Calgary last night and finally one to Phoenix this morning. He texted me just before 9am and said that he’d landed. Twelve hours after his original arrival time.

Goodness, that was the most stressful time. He was supposed to meet Eric (his gun-toting best man) at the airport, so they could share a cab to Noah’s parents’ condo, and, well, that didn’t happen. We’d had a rough, emotional night the night before, and when he told me that the people in front of him had flights out on Saturday, I was kind of relieved, and happy I’d get to see him again. But, he got his flight, and I’m glad of that, because this is the first vacation he’s taken since our 2005 honeymoon, and he was SO looking forward to it. He hasn’t seen Eric since just after Liliana was born. The timing even worked out that he was supposed to see his cousin play baseball this morning over there. I hope he was still able to make it to the game. And I would know if he’d made it, but texting/calling/data are STUPID EXPENSIVE so we’re just not talking unless he’s around free wifi.

Also, the ranting on twitter thing? Some companies have FANTASTIC twitter support. If I have a HORRID experience with a company, I will rant on twitter, and things get solved. At the same time, if I have a FANTASTIC experience with a company, I also will tell twitter. Marketing/customer service has shifted a lot, and if a company is not on twitter, it’s missing out.

So, this next week should be interesting. I woke up this morning with a super-swollen throat, swallowing knives. Liliana is complaining of chest pain. Preston has a cold. I have to work really late on Saturday night. Two days of dishes are sitting on my kitchen counter. But, we’ll make it. I know we will. We’ll have breakfast for dinner and we’ll have picnics in front of the TV and we’ll eat more dill pickle popcorn than is probably healthy and we’ll have a great 4,000-km road trip. And we’ll count down the days till we’re all together again.