Today I begin gearing up for Fandemonium and a family reunion. I’m not yet clear how all the stuff on my Things-to-pack list is going to fit into my minivan, but at least I’ve got the list.
The concern that is really on my mind today is wondering how I’m going to balance Fandemonium with family. I need to get some time away from the kids without them feeling totally abandoned or my siblings feeling taken advantage of. Part of me wants to dump the kids on my relatives and just be a fan without being a mommy for 2 days. Most of me would feel horribly guilty about that.
Howard thinks having any kids underfoot during the Schlockfest event would be a mistake. Part of me agrees. Part of me chews her nails at the thought of leaving Patches with someone else over night. Some of the Schlockers said “Yay!” at the possibility that Patches would be there. Some almost certainly would prefer a kid free zone although no one has said so.
Howard tells me not to worry and that all these tangled thoughts will straighten themselves out once we’re actually in Boise and see how things are going. I know he’s right, but the hamster of my thoughts just keeps running and running in that wheel without ever going anywhere.
Put the hamster wheel back under the hood,
Daddy needs to be able to drive to work tomorrow …
Is there something you could do for the siblings to ease the taken-advantage-of feelings (which may or may not exist)? Maybe return the favor sometime down the road?
I think the kids will be fine. They’ve learned to adapt with Daddy gone, so that will be a huge help … as you said, things like daily phone calls, private time together, and so on, help them cope. This time they’ll have a plethora of cousins to play with and adults to pay attention to them. Plenty of distraction material available, in other words.
You are NOT being a bad mommy wanting a couple of days to yourself, a sanity break! (as if a con is a sanity break?) I’ll even give you a button saying that if it helps 🙂
and then some of the Schlockers…
Sat “yay” to ANY or ALL of the brrod being there…
Any of them would be most entertaining…
I’d even not smoke the entire con for that chance at fun… 🙂
Though I think Kiki would be the bigger hit, frankly…
I wanna see her try and talk D&D with people… 🙂
Re: and then some of the Schlockers…
They’ll get a chance to be at the con for awhile, probably on Friday. So any folks who really want to meet my kids, just need to let me know and it can be arranged.
Are you going to be at Fandemonium/Schlockfest?
Re: Put the hamster wheel back under the hood,
My family probably Won’t feel taken advantage of. They’ll be quite happy to watch kids and give me a break. But I want them to be happy to do it again the next time I need a break too. Which means I need to be careful how often I rely on them or I’ll use up the willingness-to-help.
Pretty much the only kid I worry about leaving is Patches. The others are all big enough to fend for themselves for a couple of days.