Antipodes

On Saturday night, I had gone to bed early. At about 10:30, though, Kevin came in and woke me up, whispering, "Hey Chelsea, I'm back!"
As he stood there in the dark, I was racking my brain trying to remember. After several moments, I finally had to ask, "Where did you go?"
"China."
Oh yeah!! So Kevin was in China for a month. He was given the opportunity to go work at the Embassy in Beijing this summer, and so there he was, on the absolute opposite side of the world for four long weeks. We considered the possibility of our going with him for the assignment, but with a newborn baby, Penny starting school, and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to travel to the antipodes (38 hours on the way home), we decided I'd just stay here in Brazil with the kids while he went to Beijing to work.
It wasn't as bad as I anticipated.
Kevin is an elder in our church, and before he left, he gave each of us a Priesthood Blessing, invoking the power of God to bless us as I was on my own for the month and as Penny started kindergarten. I've had a few Priesthood Blessings in the past, but this time I felt the difference more than I ever had in the past.
Usually, by the time Kevin gets home at 5:30 or so, I am done. I toss the kids at him and go work on dinner. Sometimes I just turn in at 7:00 or so and let him take care of bedtime. I'm cranky, exhausted, and just done with kids. But while Kevin was in Beijing, we were happy in the evenings. I'm not kidding! We were happy and having fun, playing games together and generally enjoying being together. This does not usually happen. Ever. But during the whole month Kevin was gone, there were only three evenings where I got angry or lost my patience with the kids as we were getting ready for bed. I had been afraid it would be every single day, so that's a miracle in and of itself.
I focused a lot on keeping everyone fed. I made sure we didn't run out of groceries, and I kept food and snacks available. And I just fed everyone, keeping all of us from getting hangry (you know, hungry + angry). Full tummies prevent a lot of problems.
We hired a housekeeper 2x a week while Kevin was gone. It's always embarrassing to have someone come in and see my house when it's an absolute wreck. But it does amazing things for my sanity to have someone there to be on my side when it comes to the house. Plus, she is amazing. She sings and plays horsie with the kids. Naomi absolutely adores her and follows her around the house chatting and playing pretend with her. This is pretty hilarious, because Naomi speaks only English and Renata only Portuguese. But Naomi doesn't seem to care, and she just goes on and on. Renata cooked meals and snacks, stocking our fridge with healthy and/or delicious Brazilian food for us to eat during the week. She supported me in all my efforts, and I am intensely grateful.
We kept busy. The girls were in day camp for part of the time, then Penny started kindergarten, and we all got out of the house to take her to school every morning. We talked to Kevin on Skype every morning and evening-- the only times our 11-hour time difference overlapped. I started a Portuguese class at the Embassy, and we often went to play with friends in the mornings.
And we made it through! We were all so excited to see him once he returned, and I'm incredibly grateful for all the help he gives me. Now that he's over the worst of the jet lag, we'll start going out and doing fun things as a family again.

Naomi missed her dad but gave him hugs through the computer