I have worked through many challenges in my life that were both physically and mentally demanding. Some that come to mind are skiing down a mountain in a whiteout with a group of ten seven year-olds, running eight marathons, backpacking through extremely rough terrain dehydrated, hot, and hungry. This weekend I was able to add yet another challenge to my list.
First, let me tell you about my training. For the past several weeks I would get up at 4:00 am to pray and read my Bible. This was a challenge that I needed to be spiritually ready for and my “normal” morning quiet time was not adequate for the preparation.
Then, three of those days I headed out to my Camp Gladiator workout at 5:00 am. What I was about to endure required physical stamina and being put through the paces for an hour at a time was just the training I needed. In the final week leading up to last weekend I added a short run on my off day.
Of course, I also asked questions of friends and co-workers who I knew had been through a similar challenge. I wanted to know some of the strategies they used to make it through. I also asked for their prayer.
Yes, all of this prepared me for one of my greatest challenges in recent memory - Erica went out of town on a church retreat for two full days and I was home with the kids.
I know, Erica does this all day every day with a mastery that is in an elite class. You have to understand though, I have never done it. The closest thing I have done to this was when Jonah was born, I had a few hours with Nicole before Erica came home from the hospital. That was not easy - Nicole missed Erica VERY much and it was difficult for everyone.
Nicole and Jonah love Erica and they love their time with her. They are accustomed to her style of care and know her routines. When either one wakes in the night they almost always reject my help and want Erica.
So, I knew I had big shoes to fill so I began planning and strategizing on how I would approach the weekend in a way that I knew I could pull off while making it uniquely “dad.”
Erica left at noon on a Friday and left me with a menu plan for the whole weekend that I just had to follow. Both kids started their nap so I had about an hour to get set and ready to go. I did some prep of the food Erica had planned for our dinner that night. Then I sat on the couch and finalized plans for our first adventure.
When the kids woke up we went on one of our “exploratory adventure walks” to a nearby path around two lakes that I had found on Google. Jonah loves water and ducks and Nicole loves to explore places she has never been before. We walked around both lakes and it ended up being two and a half miles. It took up a large part of our afternoon and we got back to the house with enough time to play outside for a little while before the kids went into the backyard and I made dinner.
All the routines that Erica has set up around dinner and bedtime worked flawlessly and before I knew it the kids were in bed and I was too!
The next day we ate breakfast and then got back into the van for our next surprise. After we backed out of the garage I let them know we were going to the zoo. We had a great time filling up our morning and were back in time for another pre-planned lunch. The zoo wore them both out so both napped which gave me time to reset. The afternoon brought us to another park with another lake and another walk. Home. Play. Dinner. Bed. Day two done.
The next morning was church - usually a challenge because of the hard timeframe we have to get out of the house. Again, a pre-planed meal helped us. And, since the retreat was through our church, the church planned some activities for the kids that day called pajama and donut day. It's kind of them to remove the hassle of having to pick out matching pants and shirts and get the kids dressed.
One lady at church asked me if I was surviving. I thought about playing up the circumstances and inventing some petty from her but something in my spirit checked and I answered “no, we’re thriving!” It was true.
I know that I had an approach to the weekend that kept everyone entertained and having fun. But equal to that was the groundwork that Erica has laid for months and years creating routines and disciplines in our house that the kids can follow no matter what. She also set us up well by creating a menu plan (and having the food stocked) that used minimal dishes and that we could easily follow.
The weekend was a blast and it gave me new insight to what Erica does every day while I’m not here and especially when I’m traveling. I always knew what she did but know I KNOW.
As with all challenges, there was a big buildup to the actual event. That buildup had a touch of nervousness mixed with excitement and unknowns. Yes, it was both physically and mentally challenging. Yes, it required some preparation. But in the end, it all came together and it was very rewarding. Doesn’t it always seem to work out that way?
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