Lesser of Two Evils (1 of 3 Entries for Today)

Well, maybe not "evils", but a difficult choice, nonetheless.

My husband and I typically work a 8-5 work week. At the same office, no less, which makes commuting more bearable, at least.

But now hubby has informed me that he has to work the late shift for the next several Thursdays. This means working until 11pm - not home until 11:45 or so. Yuck.

Last Thursday was the first with this new schedule. He and I talked about it and decided that sleeping over at my parents' house that night would be preferable all around to sleeping at home. My parents live closer to our work than we do, so hubby would get "home" quicker that way. Plus, I would have some help with getting Sweetie off to bed. Sounded good to us!

It was fine, I guess. My niece and her boyfriend were at my parents' as well for the evening, so it was a bit of a party atmosphere (okay, maybe not "party", but much more lively than just Sweetie and I hanging out at home, of course). There were enough adults around so that I got some "alone" time (albeit in the midst of all the activity) to write a quick blog entry and check my email. So that was good.

But then it was time to get Sweetie ready for bed. Something I obviously deal with every night. And, almost every night, Sweetie doesn't want to get her pajammies on and puts up a bit of a fight. Again, something I'm used to. If she ever gets too riled up I can enlist the support of hubby to hold her down while I change her. But most of the time I can handle this part just fine on my own.

Well, as soon as Sweetie started to put up just a bit of a fuss, my mom came on the scene and helped me out. Even though I told her I could do it on my own. Even though my dad told her "Honey, let Amy take care of it." She still did what she could to control Sweetie's not-too-terrible squirms.

Alright. Whatever. I appreciate that my mom is there to help and that Sweetie is comfortable with her Nana and the discipline she doles out. It's a good thing, I guess.

So then Sweetie went to bed. My parents live in a ranch-style home, so I easily could have walked her to bed and even lifted her into her Pack and Play. Instead, mom scooped her up and carried her to bed, handed her her Teddy and tucked her in. I followed and said goodnight. That's about it. Whoopie.

All was fine for about an hour our so. Then Sweetie, very uncharacteristically, woke up screaming. By the time mom and I figured out it was Sweetie and not the T.V. show my niece was watching, we both hurried to her room. Apparently, Sweetie had woken up and, I guess, was a bit frightened because she forgot where she was.

So it was mom to the rescue again. She picked her up and comforted her, asking Sweetie what was wrong and what she needed. I followed and tried to talk Sweetie down too. Mom carried her out to the family room, where we tried to get Sweetie to take some cold medicine (she was still getting over her latest bug at the time). Sweetie wouldn't have any of that, though, and just continued her cries, mom holding her all the while. Finally, Sweetie climbed onto my lap (yes!) and hugged me tight, finally calming down in my arms. She was finally calm enough to realize everything was okay and she could go back to bed. Again, mom took her from me and we 3 trotted off for bedtime again. This time Sweetie tucked in nicely and quietly went to sleep for the rest of the night.

I didn't sleep well, though. I was in the middle of a cold myself, so that, combined with not-my-own-bed made for a restless night. Plus, I didn't know how to set the alarm clock in the dark (we slept in the same room as Sweetie). I ended up waking up too early, probably because I intuitively didn't want to sleep too late.

So - do I want to continue my Thursday nights like this - not being able to fully take care of my own child? Or do I decide to go home so that Sweetie and I have no choice but to deal with each other, no matter what good or bad things may occur?

I don't know yet. Which is worse? Which is less comfortable? Which is less comforting? I need to think about this some more and make the best decision for us all.