Background information for this entry: My BFF Lisa and I schemed up a plan for me to visit her in Ohio for the New Year Weekend. Her kids were going to be with their father in another state and Paul was finally going to be home to watch my three. I have to admit, I did ponder whether I should be gone from home during the time that Kendra was in Colorado, but I thought Paul could handle anything that came up.
Friday morning, I threw my suitcase in the mom-mobile, slapped in the first disc of my book on tape, and started cruising down the highway. Once I left Maryland, I had the pleasure of getting lost briefly in Breezeway, PA (and for anyone that has been there, you can laugh that I should get screwed up in such a small town with large directional signs to the turnpike.) Once I was on the PA turnpike, it was smooth sailing. Ohio turnpike, also a breeze. Then I had to get off the freeway in Toledo. Since it was dark by then and I had to try and read the directions from Mapquest while watching traffic, I spent some time wandering up and down streets until I finally found the right street.
Lisa bought her first home earlier in 2006. This was my first chance to see it. The house is really cute, the perfect size for her and the boys (she has two sons). One of our projects for this weekend was to paint Jacob's room.
Sunday evening, I called Paul to check on the status of Kendra's flight home. With all the snow, I wasn't sure how much, if at all, her travel plans would be affected. Here is my memory of that conversation
::::ring, ring::::
P- Hello?
E- Ola! Como esta?
long pause
P- I was hoping you wouldnt call today.
E- (instantly, the mom radar goes into full alert).. What's wrong? Is Kendra not flying out today?
P- (meandering, in my opinion) well.... it's .. never.. what.. you .. expect.
P- the plane she was supposed to board in Co. was coming from Phoenix. En route, the plane had mechanical problems and required the mechanics to go over it before they could take off from Co. .... ITS NOTHING MAJOR... but she is most likely going to miss her connecting flight in Cinncinatti... BUT THE CONNECTION WE HAD WASN'T THE GREATEST.... they are going to either 1) stall the other flight, 2) depending on the time she arrives, ground transport her to another airport so she can catch a flight to BWI tonight, or 3) put her up in a hotel and get her on a flight tomorrow. BUT SINCE I COULDN'T REALLY HEAR HER, I TOLD HER TO JUST CALL ME WHEN SHE KNEW MORE.
E- What were you thinking? How could you not call me and let me know this sooner? What are they going to do with her?
P- (trying to be soothing) Calm down, I have this under control
The conversation went amazingly downhill from this point. I will spare you the minute details of my complete and total breakdown. I spent at least two hours contemplating all the various scenarios in which things could go horribly wrong. On the up side, the airline held up the connecting flight and Kendra arrived back in Maryland on Sunday, Paul was there to pick her up... and he text'd me to let me know this (the coward).
**** a brief note from the author.. In hindsight, Paul did know what was going on and he did have a reasonable handle on the situation. Where he went horribly wrong was in thinking it would be "best" to not tell me anything until he knew for sure WHICH of the three possibilities was going to happen. And then to start our conversation with "I was hoping you wouldn't call"... smacks of cover-up. I truly had no choice but to over-react and become the uber bitch mom. ***********
So.. Monday passed by pleasantly enough, although I was still seething a bit at Paul's text message in lieu of a phone call (the coward). But along about 9 am on Tuesday, drama once again reared it's ugly head. This time it was drama in the form of Lisa's Ex not having returned the boys on time. These two have a long and ugly history with respect to the boys. He won't pay his child support because he's convinced Lisa doesn't use the money on the kids (she does, when she gets it). He is always bringing the kids back late or refusing to bring them at all and telling Lisa, if you want the boys, you'll have to pick them up yourself. So... this particular event was the final straw... Lisa filed a complaint with the local law enforcement. The EX finally had the boys back to Lisa at midnight on Tuesday.
Wednesday, I headed home... upon arriving back here, Paul and I went out to dinner. We sat in the parking lot for at least an hour before going in to discuss what happened on Sunday. Accusations flew, tears flowed, appologies were made and finally.. he admitted he was wrong in how he handled the communication. And I admitted I probably over-reacted.
I'm chalking this one up to a "growth experience" for all of us. Kendra did a great job keeping her dad informed and seemed not at all flustered by the changes that occurred. Paul and I have learned another area in which we each need to have a bit more faith in the other. And I think Paul really learned that "I hoped you wouldn't call today" is not the best conversation starter.
Oh.. and Jacob's room did get painted.. a lovely color called "Russian Blue." But I didn't get the chance to hem the shower curtains for Lisa.. sorry about that, hon.
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