All The Single Mommies! Oh oh oh oh oh oh!

I know I said my next blog would be an awards ceremony, but I've got to give props to all the single mothers out there first. I've had a small, small taste of your world this week and to be perfectly frank, I don't know HOW YOU DO IT!!

My husband was out of town this entire week. He left Sunday and comes back tonight (finally!). He has left town before...just not for a whole week. It is usually three days at the most.

And I have to tell you...I was looking forward to this week alone. I actually enjoy alone time - even before I became a mother, I was fine being alone. I was looking forward to watching Project Runway in my jammies with no interruptions, eating soup for dinner (my husband thinks soup is pointless as a meal and I love it - it's coziness in a bowl!), reading blogs, writing blogs, keeping the house calm and collected (my husband is the fun one who gets my son and dogs riled up), keeping order and chaos to a minimum. And for the most part, I did okay. I did get to watch Project Runway, I did have soup for dinner twice, and I kept everyone and every dog pretty even tempered.

However, I thought I would have more alone time in the evenings and during Max's naps to blog and read and catch up on chores. I'm not sure where I got that deranged idea. I had no time. I haven't checked my blogs all week. I haven't written since Monday. I'm behind in laundry, dishes, I have clothes to hang and put away, I've only showered once all week, my face has broken out in zits (which hasn't happened in years), and I'm starving by 4 0'clock because I forget to eat after breakfast.

By the third evening, I started going to bed feeling a little bit defeated. And I had this unending sense of impending doom lurking around inside my head and chest. My shoulders and back have been aching from stress (well, and from carrying our 50 pound, all-muscle, bull terrier from the back door to the bathtub twice a day. It has been raining here all week and that barking battle axe gets MUUUUUDDY!), and I had nightmares again.

What I want to know from all you rock star single moms out there is how do you not just let your kids watch tv all day? On Tuesday, I let Max watch Sprout and Noggin most of the day so I could try to gain some chore momentum. And I felt guilty about it ALL DAY, too. I know I'm not supposed to let a one year old stare into the boob tube for an entire afternoon of Sesame Street, Blue's Clues, and Yo Gabba Gabba, but what other choice did I have? My house was starting to smell like wet dog and old cheese.

And what about those single moms (or dads!) who work outside of the home all day and then have to come home to clean and cook and give baths and do bedtime routines and all that jazz ALL BY THEMSELVES? I'm surprised you have showers at all. Someone should give you a million dollars. Or at least write you a song. "All the Single Mommies" should be Beyonce's next big hit.

So, to All the Single Mommies, All the Single Mommies, cheers to you. I have great respect and adoration for you. I am sincerely in awe of you. I even tear up a bit thinking about you...in the same way I tear up when contestants lose a lot of weight on The Biggest Loser (that show reduces me to a blubbering mess every time). It is because I am very proud of you...your courage, your stamina, your discipline, your selflessness. I should never complain about my husband again (but you know I will) because at least I have someone else to take out the recycling (another thing I never did this week. Wait...maybe that is why my house smells like old cheese?).