One Week Anniversary

Today marks my one week anniversary of being a SAHM. It’s been a roller coaster already! Ella is doing much better, thanks for all of your prayers. Tuesday night she started perking up, and by Wednesday she was doing significantly better. Thursday she was able to go back to school!

Yesterday was a big day for the Murray’s. Ella went to church school all by herself! Yep, no mommy, no daddy and no Metti. Just her in a class with the teachers and other kids. This is a big deal! That was the first time in her whole life (pretty much) that Ella was somewhere without Metti, Joe or I there with her. I’ve been in close communication with her teacher and the preschool directors (let’s face it…they’re probably sick of me) and we all decided that we would give Ella a shot at going to class alone. So on Thursday I walked her to class and dropped her off, just like all of the other kids parents do. It was a leap of faith, but I did it…without tears! Then I spent the rest of the day sitting near the church with my cell phone in hand, just in case they needed me. J It wasn’t as pathetic as it sounds. It was actually really peaceful. I sat outside in the beautiful weather with my mom for an hour until her friend came to pick her up for lunch, then I went in the car and read some magazines that I had gotten from the church. I don’t have a lot of time to just sit and read, so it was pretty relaxing.

When I dropped Ella off I had told the teacher and the assistant that Ella’s eye was still really sun sensitive, so she might not want to go outside to play (she kept her eyes closed the whole ride over there because she said it was too bright), and if that was the case, just give me a call and I’d come get her. Well, around 12:30 I went inside to go to the bathroom. Of course I got to talking to some friends, and next thing I know I see a sweet little Stinkerella walking toward me. Just like I had predicted, she didn’t want to go outside to play, so the assistant was walking around and found me. So she only stayed 3 hours, but I thought that was pretty good for being gone 2 days and still recovering from a hurt eye. They said that all in all she did great in class.

I’m still going to stick close to the church next week, but I may get more adventurous and go to Starbucks down the street. The truth is that our house is only about 15 minutes from the church, so even if I came home and something happened, I would still be able to get there pretty quickly. I just like the assurance that I’m right there if she gets hurt.

Wednesday I interviewed someone to temporarily help out while Metti is gone. I can’t begin to explain how difficult it is to have a stranger come into your house for several hours a day, and take care of your most prized possession (Ella) and have everything you own right at their fingertips. I don’t think anyone can fully understand how vulnerable it makes you feel, unless they’ve been there. So I met with someone who was interested, but something about her just didn’t sit well. It was weird, and when I took her downstairs to meet Ella she stayed for a few minutes, then stood up and said, “Ok, thank you. I can see myself out.” Well, ok then. Joe and I decided that I’d call the agency and interview someone else. Well, today the agency called and apparently the woman I met with wasn’t interested anyway, so it all worked out. I’m supposed to talk with another candidate soon. Please pray that we find someone who I feel good about. This is just temporary while Metti is gone, but this person will still be taking care of Ella and I want to make sure I feel good about them being in our house.

Despite caring for a little girl who wasn’t feeling too hot, and spending a majority of our time cooped up in the house, the week at home was good. I’m especially glad that I was the one to care for Ella while she was sick, instead of sitting at work wondering if she was ok. And I’m so glad that I get to hang out with my mom while she’s here. I used to just leave her at the house with Metti while I went to work, and maybe I’d take 1 or 2 days off for us to do something. Now I get to actually spend time with her, which is a lot of fun. This afternoon Ella has planned for us to make chocolate chip cookies. We’ll see how that goes.