Walking Tornado

It just so happens that the day Adam left for his graduate classes in Beijing, Willow became a walking tornado. Destruction is left in her wake. By pure grace, tonight marks the completion of seven days on my own with the Willow-monster.

Tonight, after I cleaned her room, I bathed her, lathered on her lotion, dressed her in clean pajamas, nursed her one last time, and put her to bed. Lately, she is so tired from walking, it doesn't take her long to fall asleep. After she was snoozing, I started to work on cleaning our mess from the day. It was mostly her mess, but I definitely wasn't tidy this afternoon. Willow contributed her fair share and had created a mess in the bathroom, the guest room, my room, the living room, and the kitchen. Add to that; three loads of dirty dishes, her bath tub and toys to pick up, dirty clothes to wash, wet clothes to hang up, dry clothes to fold and put away.

Thank you, blog, for this break. Finally. Finished cleaning after two hours. Thankful that our apartment isn't ginormous. At least now I can focus on Willow when she wakes up at the break of dawn.

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Adam is in Beijing.

Over the past three years, I've learned a lot about being left behind. Mostly:

• I hate being left behind! I feel like he is always traveling (which isn't exactly the case--others have it far worse). It's sad and lonely, and I also feel a twinge of jealousy. I'm envious of  the experiences, the sights, the foods. He is making memories of a lifetime that I will never get to share with him. No, I'm at home on my computer, doing housework...whatever...humph. 
• Secondly, it detracts from our family life. He's missed our anniversary because of traveling. He's also missed out on 2.5 months of Willow's life because of trips before she is even 1! 

 Oops, sorry for sounding bitter about it; I'm actually used to staying at home while he goes places. I keep telling myself that he's not having 'too much fun' this time since the purpose is to study and sit in classes from 8am-4pm everyday.

Adam did tell me that he went to another location of the Great Wall. It is the 6th spot he's visited along the Great Wall. He said that it was so windy that if he spit over the side of the wall, the wind would whip the wad over his head and it would land on the other side of the wall (probably several meters away). Gross. Me. Out.

I don't miss the grossness.
But I do miss Adam.

Now is not the time to get sad about it! There's still two more weeks to go! Let's focus on the pros of being on my own for three weeks. This is my positive spin.

•  There is less need to do chores. He goes through two or three outfits a day--which means several loads of laundry in our tiny washing machine per week. Without Adam, there is basically no laundry. 
• He isn't here to make a mess, and he isn't here to be bothered by mine/Willow's messes--so I am spending less time on housework. Haha! 
•  I can watch tv shows and movies that I feel like watching. This includes chic-flicks that Adam shuns. 
• There's no pressure to make dessert everyday. I don't think Adam pressures me to do this on purpose, but the second he's rooting for something sweet to eat, I feel bad for not having a dessert prepared. He loves dessert and milk every night! 
• There's less need to go grocery shopping. Usually Adam helps with the shopping, but still, I do notice a significant decrease in food demand. Which leads to the next pro...
• Instead of having to cook for 4-8 people, I can cook for just one person. Yes....that's the truth, and I am not exaggerating. 

Well, Adam, if you're reading this--I don't want you to feel bad. I'm just trying to look on the bright side of things. In reality, no matter how many 'pros' I can come up with--it really is terrible when you're gone.

On another happy note, Willow and I were finally able to connect with Adam today. He was so busy during the week that we had very little time to skype, and his phone was out of minutes for a few days which didn't help communicating. Willow was so excited to see her dad on the iPad screen. She was laughing and giggling almost non-stop, and she kept kissing the screen. I was worried that she might forget about him during this long absence, but I was so wrong!

 He is on her 'favorite people to play with' list.

I am not. I don't know why!

If you want, you can send thoughts in an upward direction on our behalf. Please pray that we all stay safe in our different locations, that Adam and I would have energy for our various responsibilities, and that we are able to talk to each other everyday. Also, it has been raining a lot this month. Nearly everyday! Willow is finally at a point where she enjoys being outside, and is able to walk around and play. It's a relief to be able to go outside and spend some of her energy on the outdoors--but we've been cooped inside so much. I hope for some moments to play outside each day.

One mess she was working on this morning 

She looks guilty 

~julie