I’ve had so much to write but really no time at all to do it.  In Israel I was busy with dd14 and dd16, and didn’t have my usual easy computer access.  When I got back to the States about midnight Weds, I jumped right back into my very full life first thing in the morning.  It’s been a difficult reentry due to exhaustion and the many things that needed to be done immediately, as well as emotionally transitioning. 

My husband and our parents did a great job taking over for me while I was gone, and I didn’t expect them to do all that I do, just to take good care of the kids.  And they did!  But I really did have a lot of work immediately facing me, made harder by my failed attempt at avoiding jet lag.  I didn’t sleep for 26 hours from waking up in Israel to leave to the airport until I got back to my house at midnight, with the intent to sleep a full night when I got home and right away reset my circadian rhythyms.  This would have worked great if I hadn’t been jolted out a very deep sleep after five hours of sleep by an early morning work related call for my husband.  🙁 

I got up after the call since I couldn’t go back to sleep and started preparing breakfast, first needing to wash all the dishes in the sink, then getting the laundry going (since the littles drawers were empty), with breakfast ready on time for the littles’ early wake up. It was nice to sit down with ds4 and then ds3 and have a quiet breakfast with each of them before the others woke up.  It was so nice to greet each of the kids one by one – I missed them all and it was great to be back with them. 

Ds20 months was woken up when ds4 ran upstairs and yelled to everyone, “Guys, Mommy’s home!  Wake up everybody, Mommy’s home!”  So he was bleary-eyed and out of sorts to start with, and when I held out my arms to him, he turned away and shook his head.  I understood this reaction and expected it, then coaxed him to me by letting him hold a treat while sitting on my lap.  He was grumpy and not his cheerful self for the next three days, until yesterday it was like he suddenly became himself again – laughing and smiling all the time.  It was pretty obvious that even though he looked like he was doing fine when dd14 and I were away, that he missed us and that’s what was behind his grumpiness.  We called and Skyped regularly when I was gone, which I think helped him deal with us being gone quite a lot. 

Ds17 was scheduled to return that day for a short visit, and I got a call at 10am that he missed his train and I needed to make him another ticket.  I was so, so tired – I really was dragging myself by that point – but I did all the research on train and bus connections for him to make the ticket.  I somehow stumbled through the next seven hours of keeping everyone happy and entertained, until my husband got home. 

My husband got  home from work unexpectedly early and was able to take the kids to go pick up ds17, while I got to take a much needed nap.   I wasn’t expecting this, and was so appreciative since I was so tired I didn’t feel up to driving. When I made my ticket to Israel, I had no idea that ds17 had a break beginning the day after I returned, so that worked out perfectly!  It is wonderful having him home again, even for a short time.

On Friday I started to cook for Shabbos, to make the unpleasant discovery that no shopping had been done and there were hardly any vegetables.  So I figured I’d go out and pick some up, but just as I was getting ready to leave, my husband called – to apologize that he took the bank card from my purse the night before and forgot to put it back!  He had intended to do the shopping while I was napping so I wouldn’t have to do it, but didn’t end up having time.  So I had to be very creative about what to make using what I had – a head of purple cabbage, carrots, onions, and frozen mixed vegetables.  Did I mention that I was woken up early again after only 5 hours of sleep?  At this point I was up to 11 hours of sleep in almost three days! 

But I got everything cooked and ready, and at 5 pm went upstairs to take a very short nap before dressing and lighting Shabbos candles.  I woke up again five hours later – my husband came in to inform me he was lighting candles for me and I was so deeply tired that I couldn’t even open my eyes to protest.  I slept right through Friday night dinner, until ds17 came to visit me in my room to see how I was doing.  I felt badly that it was his only Shabbos home for two months, and then he won’t be home again for another two months, and I missed being up for the meal.   But there’s only so long you can push your body until it can’t be pushed any more!

It’s nice to be back, and thank you to all of you who have patiently kept checking in and trusting that I’d get back to blogging.   😛  (If I can find the time, I’ll share more about  my trip sometime soon – it was a wonderful trip and I’m so grateful I was able to go.)

Avivah