I'd have to say that I learned more from the experience than my wife. Although she missed her boys very much, she got to be with friends and enjoyed her trip and her class. For the most part it was a nice break for her and she deserved it very muc My end of the bargain turned out to be way harder than I thought it would be. I found out very early that only a mother can do some things just right. Swimming lessons for my oldest boy (just his second one; his mother took him to his first one just two days prior) that first evening was a disaster. Not only did Dad do things differently (actually, "wrong" is how he put it), he had a substitute swimming teacher (another man) who did things differently too! After fifteen minutes of bawling, clinging, etc., he finally sat by the edge of the pool and did a couple things with the class. A rough start, but we got through it.

We went home, got ready for bed, watched "The Little Mermaid" together, and waited for Mom's call. Mom was anxious to say hi to the boys, but as soon as my two year old her Mom's voice his lower lip went down and the "I want Mama" whimper began. We bedded down for the night (a bit tougher than usual), but the boys were asleep and we had made it through the first night (I thought!). But then the "I want Mama" whimper started again about 1:30 am and it took a good twenty minutes to shut it off. I went back to bed only to hear "Daddy, Daddy" from my oldest at about 2:30. "I want a drink of water, Dad." A bit after 7 and the whimper returned and sleeptime was over.

Day two went quite well, actually, but a near instant replay of the previous night found me craving a nap quite early on day three (the day Mom comes home!). I also noticed that third morn that the house looked a little more cluttered than usual. Plus there were a few extra piles (dishes, laundry, toys, etc.) lying around the house. I thought, we better do a little bit of housework before we head outside and play today. Well, I hate to admit it but it was suppertime before anyone left the house that day.

Needless to say, everyone was delighted when Mom stepped in the door that night. She was glad to be back and we were all glad to have her. She brought back a couple treats for the boys and life was back to normal (and believe me, normal is good!)

I've never once doubted the importance of Moms and what they do and mean for a family, but sometimes we need to be reminded. Believe me, I've been reminded. My wife took the class, but I learned the lesson. For three days, I hit the mother-load (actually, the mother-load hit me) And what a load it is!