But I digress.
This past week was absolutely awesome. Best week I have had in a very long time. I signed up for the training many months ago, with Louis' support, and he even arranged to take one full week of vacation from work to stay with Olivia. I sincerely believe this past week with our role reversals was more beneficial to our family than a session of counseling (which we were heading towards).
The first morning, I laid out O's clothes, snacks, and meals for the day. I left a full page of notes about what to do, where to go, when and how, etc. I was so worried that O would be upset about me being gone for so long. Not only did she not cry for me, she was super excited to learn she would be spending all day with Daddy.
As the week went on, I left fewer instructions and help. They totally figured it out. I'm not sure I want to know exactly what the two of them ate, but she's still alive and well, so it's fine. Louis would send me pictures and texts throughout the day so I could see what they were up to. He took her to all her classes and preschool and seemed to really enjoy it. In fact, he said he had more fun this past week than he did going to Disneyland.
The funniest part of our role-reversal was that everyday when I came home, I kept trying to tell Louis about everything I learned and who I met and all the fascinating conversations I had about our health care system, while he kept trying to tell me all about the new things Olivia learned or did that day and proudly showed me all the art she had made. When I'd come home, I found myself interrupting their play time and it was a little awkward to work my way back into the family. They even developed their own secret jokes. I loved watching how comfortable Louis was with taking care of O. He made friends with the other parents and told me he thought O was too advanced for Kiddie Kollege (it's just for socialization and play, I reminded him). He fell into the roll of full-time Daddy so well and they have a special new bond.
Meanwhile, I got to dress up nicely, with pearls and make-up. I learned so much (more on that later) and felt so fulfilled at the end of the week. I did minimal laundry and didn't wash a single dish the whole week. It was awesome.
Olivia is happy. Louis is happy. Mama is thrilled. We all had a great week and I know Louis and I have a new deep appreciation for each other and the work that we do. This past week was one of the best things to happen to our family.
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