במקום שאין איש...

....then Mommy has to be the Ish.

Donny has been away this week. He is on the east coast, instead of the west, in Washington. (DC. Not state, and not Heights, as Ariella thought: "Is he going to be where Uncle Elie and Aunt Leezy used to live?") He went for work, of course, though I think he had as many trips to Goldberg's Bagels as he had meetings. Also a trip to the Spy Museum. And some fancy restaurants.

But it's okay; I'm not jealous. This whole week, after the kids went to bed, there was no second dinner to prepare, so I ate Cocoa Krispies and watched Private Practice. (Halfway through season 3; three-quarters of the way through the box of cereal.) Expensive steak and wine it is not, but I do get to do it in my pajamas.

Also, in case you thought I was lonely at night without my roommate - Fret not! The children made liberal use of Daddy's bed this week. Ariella had bad dreams one night; another night, after coming back from my middle-of-the-night bonding session with Nadav, I saw a little shorn, blond head in the bed next to mine. I also noticed my bathroom door was wide open. Apparently, said the owner of the blond head the next morning, "I said your name, Mommy, but you didn't wake up. So I went to the bathroom and got into Daddy's bed."

Ariella had a cold this week, so in kind gesture she offered, "I should sleep in Daddy's bed the rest of the week, because I'm just going to wake up Yaakov with my coughing and sneezing."

Gee, thanks, kid. I explained that the exact opposite was true - Yaakov could probably sleep through a thunderstorm-monster truck rally-hachnasat sefer Torah. (Ohmigod, if they sold tickets to that I would TOTALLY go.)

I, on the other hand, after 7.5 years of cries and pitter patters and whispers of, "Mommy? Mommy?" wake up at every little noise, especially if it emanates from a small person. (With the exception of the other night, it seems.) So I assured her that in fact, I would be the one to be up all night if she slept in Daddy's bed.

For Shabbat we head over the Green Line, to Chashmonaim. This time, Nadav and I will be roomies. Which makes it so much easier to have those middle-of-the-night bonding sessions. ("I'm tired." "I'd like to nurse.") The Rose and Balsam children have been eagery anticipating this get-together for an entire week, or in almost-5-year-old-terms, FOREVER.

Shabbat Shalom.