Mr. Mom

RoZo at Mesob
RoZo at Mesob

This weekend I was Mr. Mom.

Erica left to head down to Orange County to visit one of her friends.

In fact, two oddities about her trip. One was that I was within miles of her location just the week prior on a Univera biz trip. The second is that on my trip a week ago I TRIED to see my sister (one of four) during the two days that I was in Orange County but it didn’t work out. And then last night Erica went to church with her friend, a church with over 10,000 members, and she ran into my sister at the church service. Erica had, of course, no idea that she even lived that closeby let alone went to this church. Very odd. But I love “coincidences” like that.

I was determined to make the most of the weekend for the kids (and maybe me), yet I was still committed to get a lot done. Starting with some Ethiopian food at Mesob. Any restaurant that has metal bars on all the exterior windows quickly falls into one of two distinct buckets. Exceptionally good. Or exceptionally scary.

Over the next few days we tried a total of three different Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle (total of four for the week) so we could pick the clear winner. Which, of course, ended up being the one that was the most “rustic” with window bars and all.

Zoe declared it as officially “the best restaurant I have ever been to!” And all for $17. A cultural and culinary bargain. img_0626

Friday night we watched a movie. I don’t even know the name of it, but somehow in browsing the Blockbuster aisles Royce and Zoe found this one with a cute dog on the cover in the family section.

The movie must have been about ten years old, and it was foreign. So I rented it, but realized my mistake after I popped it into the player and it wasn’t in English. Perhaps Tibetan, but for sure a language I wasn’t familiar with–or genre for that matter. An eclectic family movie, there were, I believe, five total characters in the movie. That includes a dog. Taking place in the middle of nowhere. The two hour movie could easily be summarized by the following:

Day in the life of a Tibetan-tent-living-family. They cook. They hunt. One day family decides to pack up tent and belongings. Why? We have no idea. By the way, Dad hates the family dog. Ties dog to stake at old homesite as they leave. They somehow forget their toddler, or she somehow falls out of the bassonet in their wagon. Toddler goes back and plays around old homesite. Dog chews thru rope it’s affixed to and somehow saves Toddler from some vultures swarming overhead. Dad returns panicked, finds toddler with dog. Decides dog isn’t so bad after all. They all head to next camping spot.

That, literally, is the long AND exciting summation.

But, at the end, Zoe also emphatically declared that “This was the best movie ever!” I do not quite understand it, but both Royce and Zoe were mesmerized. Probably because they knew it was “unique” and they were also responsible for picking it out.

So by day three, this morning I thought I’d feel pretty good about myself. But, candidly, I was dragging. Just three days has given me a new appreciation for the responsibilities of full time home life. And, on a very serious note, particularly for those people who are single parents–it must be exceptionally challenging.

While looking at the day’s schedule I felt compelled to change around priorities, which included bailing on church (probably not a good decision) but included cleaning the house (a good decision) and making Machuta’s (Lithuanian for Grandmother) pancakes for the kids in the morning.

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After hours of cleaning we went on a bit of an adventure including rock climbing (indoors at a gym), where the kids can already excel versus Dad. Afterwards, the girls faithfully declared that “rock climbing is even better than Disneyland!”

And after a day of cooking, cleaning, climbing, coffee-ing (two hours at Top Pot provided some WiFi time), and finally testing two more Ethiopian restaurants–the results of which I began in this blog–Zoe officially declared that “This is the best day ever!”, and if that’s the case–even if one of the kids felt that way for just one minute–it was probably the best accomplishment of my week.

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5 Replies to “Mr. Mom”

  1. I loved reading this posting, especially because is explains how you made “the best weekend ever” for our girls. I came home and ALL WAS GOOD. Thanks for playing Mr. Mom – it is a big job – and allowing me some “me” time. I’m ramping up for your Road Tour. Obviously you heard and felt (via cuddling) how much Royce and Zoe love you. I love you too and appreciate you so much. We are going to have a great Univera (family) time at Portland Regional. Lastly, you know I LOVE the new layout!!

  2. Cherish those times dearly. In no time they grow up and have children of their own and that is when you may get a chance to spoil your grandchildren and then send them home. I know because I have thirteen grandchildren and raising one here in Lake Oswego. Be blessed my friend.

  3. Hi Charles, BTW my parents used to live in Lake Oswego–they have great memories from there. And I am sure it’s a total blessing for grandchildren.

    People keep telling me, which I appreciate as reminders, “enjoy them now, especially because you’re approaching the high school years and then…” However, I am still under an optimistic illusion that my girls are going to be crazy about me even during their teen years. πŸ™‚

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