Theater of the Soul

Well, not really waiting anymore. I think I’m going to stay put until Monday when my boss can get here to cover me. As is the way of the universe lately, everything that could go wrong at the buildings I manage today, DID go wrong. That’s one of the only things I hate about my job. I have long periods of quiet, where things run smoothly and my boss’s investments take care of themselves pretty much. But then, WHAMO…everything blows up in my face all at once. And I’ve got tenant issues coming out of my ears on top of that, so screw it. I called The Ex and Wife and told them that I was grateful, but that they had their weekend to themselves. They’ll come stay here and cover for me when my boss goes back home.
My relationship with The Ex and Wife provides me with endless amounts of blog fodder, let me tell ya. The Ex is my high school sweetheart, so there’s more history there than in any other area of my life. He’s basically a good man…we just couldn’t make it work together. Not surprisingly, we work together better now that we’re apart. We have our moments, but for the most part I appreciate him more now than ever before. He’s an old fashioned kind of guy, stubborn as a mule and loyal to a fault. It’s an unspoken agreement between us that we back each other up and work as a team.
The Wife is the voice of reason and neutral party. We get along well and I often joke that I like HER better than The Ex. She’s around 10 years younger than The Ex and I (yes, I was traded in for a new model…can you believe that?), so the whole situation took some serious effort on her part to deal with. I’ve always empathized with her situation…it’s not easy for a woman to accept another woman’s children. The Ex expected it to happen overnight and tried to force the issue. I told him to back off and be patient. It took her a year to warm up to the kids and another year to figure ME out on top of that. She called me one night, completely out of the blue and we had a good talk. I told her that as long as she treated my kids and I with respect, she would always recieve the same in return. I also told her that I’d value and consider any input from her regarding the kids but that, ultimately, I’m their mother and I make the final decisions. I’ve only had to overrule her once and I really hated to do it because she truly wanted to do what she believed was best for my kids.
We’ve had a few smaller bumps along the way though. Like the time she implied that my youngest wasn’t eating right with them when he was two years old because he wasn’t being fed right at home with me. I told her that two year olds that did ANYTHING their parents wanted were a disgrace to the species and that he wouldn’t die of malnutrition if all he wanted for dinner were more freakin bananas. She has no children of her own and has limited experience with little kids. I understood this at the time…and I didn’t laugh my fool head off until she had left. And, yes, I DID call all of my friends and share the giggle. But there was also the time that one of my kids, in typical kid fashion, stated that he didn’t have to listen to The Wife because she wasn’t his mommy. I hit the roof and I’m sure there will never be another repeat of THAT episode.
Anyways, ultimately The Wife and I get along famously. We’ll never be best friends but as long as she loves my children like she would her own, I wouldn’t ask for anything more.