Fun title, huh?
This weekend I went to Memphis to visit one of my best friends from college and celebrate her soon to be baby girl or boy. She was married for 6 weeks when she got pregnant. It was definitely not in the plans. She is a career girl married to a pilot. That means lots of vacations before kids! Nate and I were married for 4.5 years before having kids and went on several really nice vacations in England, Germany, and the Dominican Republic. Of course towards the end I would traded any vacation to be pregnant, but we were able to do lots of things before the triplets. She is having to rapidly change her identity. Engaged to married to mommy in less than a year is a lot for anyone to swallow. We talked about how her life will change and the exciting things to come. I told her that being a mom is so rewarding yet the hardest thing you'll ever do. I told her to be flexible with breastfeeding expectations and when you go back to work. I gave her a big hug when I left and told her not to be scared. (Oh then drove to Nashville and was almost killed by some scary road rage man and nearly ran into semi naked hitchhiker. Story below...)
It's weird to be in this lofty place spouting off baby advice. Now I CAN give you some baby product tips (the Halo sleep swaddle, Nosefrida snot sucker, Weissbluth sleep book, etc etc) but when it comes to listening to my own advice on being a good mom, I'm largely deaf to it. It's a continual struggle for me to accept that I am doing a good job and these kids are getting the attention and love they need. When I am home alone, I often have 3 babies simultaneously throwing themselves in my lap. Now that Caroline and Natalie are walking, they are much more pushy and fight tooth and nail to get to my lap first and "oust" the other. Townes has his spells where he has to be held constantly after naps. Usually some Baby Einstein will cure this problem, but there are days when I can tell all they want is for me to hold them longer.
Right now everyone is going on vacations. I look at Facebook with envy at all these parents and kids at the beach. Then I read some comment by a triplet mother yesterday about how people should never use multiples as a reason not to do anything, including vacation. So then I felt like a less than triplet mom. We are robbing our kids of an experience! But then Nate reminded me that everyone is different and has varying thresholds of what they can handle. At this point in time, I would not enjoy an expensive beach vacation. The kids are running 14 different directions and hate the heat. They still have 2 naps and go to bed by 6:30pm. Hiring help would cost as much as the vacation itself. We would spend money on a vacation that we were miserable on. I dont need to buy into the triplet mom competition! Some women are tougher than me and that's ok. I was not made to breastfeed triplets or take three out in public everyday. It doesn't make me inferior.
We also decided to put the kids in school three days a week starting in August. My feelings bounce between guilt and giddiness over this decision. I'm going to start working part time hopefully in some kind of 1099 or contract capacity. I need some form of intellectual stimulation. Just like the 2 days this past year have given me mental sanity, I need to have a sense of accomplishment and use a degree I worked very hard on (and paid lots of $$$$ for!). Should I feel guilty that I am handing off the kids to someone for another day? I don't think so. I have tried my hardest and this is what Nate and I think is best. After Friday through Monday of taking care of them, I am absolutely spent. And when one needs to be home sick on Tuesday, it's Friday through Wednesday. I felt like a mack truck hit me last night!
And to the the story of my crazy ride home- I started home around 7:15 pm and drove towards I-40. I had to get in the right lane so moved over in front of this black Lexus. I got on the interstate and kept seeing the same car in my rearview mirror changing lanes everytime I did. It is a 8 lane interstate so that was really weird. My suspicions were confirmed when this crazy man passed me on the RIGHT SHOULDER of the interstate when it went down to 2 lanes and slammed on his brakes "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" style. Then I slowed down to about 50 mph and he moved next to me and slowed each time I did. I looked over and it was some weird dude who looked like Philip Seymour Hoffman. He didn't flip me the bird or anything. He just looked at me while I threw my hands up in disbelief. At this point, I jerk right and exit the interstate. He manages to get behind me and exit. I'm really freaking out at this point. I'm on the phone with Nate and he said to call the highway patrol. Thankfully, the psycho man turned into a gas station on the right when I turned left. I got his license plate number (TN, # 947 FPP, watch out!!) and told the police operator. But this operator tells me it is out of their jurisdiction because of the Exit number (THP have jurisdiction on every roadway in the State??) and gave me the number for the police in the next town. I gave up and waited a few minutes before getting back on I-40. I didn't see him again. Nate has a conceal permit and normally has a .38mm in the Lexus. I don't have a permit and the gun wasn't in there, but I wish I had taken the class now. You don't want to escalate a situation, but if he had followed me on the exit into a gas station, I definitely would have needed a weapon. I've never had anyone tail me like that and I'm not really even sure I cut him off. This was Shelby County so I'm not surprised a bit. Memphis drivers are insane.
I continue east on the interstate towards Nashville through severe thunderstorms and encountered very odd people at the Lexington, Tennessee McDonald's. Literally everyone was staring at me. Yes, I was wearing a dress and ugly flip flops, but no need for attention people. I was praying they weren't on bath salts and about to try to eat my face. The icing on the cake occurred around mile marker 178. This guy in boxer shorts jumps out onto the right lane of the interstate sticking his thumb up. Not on the shoulder. In the right lane. And he's half naked. Thank God I was in the fast lane or I might have hit this guy. It was pitch black and there was no one around me. I finally go home around 10:30 pm.
Definitely the weirdest ride home EVER. I wonder if that guy ever got a ride...
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