17 November 2006
Going, going, gone...
So, in the last 10 days, dp* has been offered and accepted a PhD and has left to start it... in Germany. I kid you not. OK, to his credit, he would have gone crazy if he'd have stayed doing shift work in his old job, but why not retrain as a policeman? A gardener? An accountant, for god's sake?!
No, for him it's a life of cold-water deep sea coral reefs, wurst and academia. To be fair, he has spent years studying for this opportunity whilst holding down a full time job. And he has made loads of applications for jobs which would have been based in the UK (but visiting a Borat-like country for 3 months every so often). And on the bright side, I guess labour will last longer than a quick flight back from Germany!
So, 'til daddy gets back at Christmas, it's the one-parent family thing for me & my ds... bread kept in the freezer (you can't get through a whole loaf!), lightbulbs going unchanged and a breakneck schedule, honed to the minute with absolutely no contingency plan. Ah, happy days! Single mums and dads out there, HOW DO YOU DO IT?! I'm all in, and it's only been a week!
As for poor old ds, he hasn't a clue what's going on, despite our explanations. And when he's confused, he gets angry. And screamy.
I think 90% of it is his understanding of time, or lack of. If I say we're going to see daddy in 10 days (or 10 sleeps, or 10 breakfasts - none of it works), I might as well be talking in Chinese. He has properly lost the plot twice since dp left - bringing the term 'screaming crying' to life - once in the supermarket, which was nice, and once at 2am. In fact, he's always been a tricky sleeper and I must admit I wake up with a warm lump of 4-year-old in my bed most mornings. I know, I know, it's a slippery slope but I'm getting kinda desperate. We're going to my mum and dad's this weekend so I can s-l-e-e-p!
Single parents out there, any tips? Please?
*dp is 'dear partner', ds is 'dear son'