Back So Soon?

So, I shopped Black Friday and survived! I returned home unscathed, although my wallet is much, much lighter and my credit card bills much, much higher. I would like to report that I am now done, done, done with shopping but, alas, that is so not the case.

I left home yesterday morning at 4:20AM with an anvil in my gut, as The Conqueror had just awaken for the millionth time and I am the go-to person at night around here. My husband goes to the nursery and fetches the baby while I pee and get settled in a chair. He then hands him off to me and goes to the family room to sleep (he is banished there when I have the baby because of his thunderous snoring). I nurse him and put him back to bed.

But, as I left home in the inky darkness on my quest for deals, I felt guilty that Daddy and the boy were going to have to tough out the remaining hour or two of night without me, which has never happened before. Of course, they, too, survived. Daddy reported that the fussiness lasted only a few minutes and the little dude accepted him as a substitute for me.

I called often (okay, every hour) while I was away, checking on the family at home. Daddy grew increasingly annoyed with my "checking". When I returned home, I expected to find a frazzled RxMan and deliriously happy-to-see-me boy, as well as a bored to tears daughter. What did I find?

The Conqueror sleeping. For two hours. For the second time that day! What?! I rarely get two 2 hour naps?! My daughter was watching TV in our spotless living room, which had been a cluttered mess just 10 hours before. She proudly pointed out the Christmas tree she and Daddy had assembled, too. (Yes, it is fake. I have kids with asthma and allergies. And, I am on the lazy side so cleaning up dried pine needles doesn't interest me.)

What?! He cleaned and assembled the tree? He also unloaded the dishwasher, made lunch and cleaned the kitchen? How? I am here alone with the kids most days and I rarely get the dishwasher filled, let alone emptied! And, how did he have time to vacuum and assemble the damned tree?

So, with a heavy heart, I applauded him and thanked him for all he did. I also realized that I was not going to swoop in and save the day because the day was better off without me. Sigh. No Super Mommy in this house. A Super Daddy, perhaps. I wanted to come in and rescue my husband and have him say, "OMG, how do you do this every day without me? I am beat!" or even "This kid is driving me crazy!" Nope. I got, "oh, done so soon?"