Bon Voyage!

by Marinka on May 4, 2010

On Sunday Husbandrinka went to Paris. Well, there was a flight involved, he didn’t just go out for bagels and keep walking.

Whenever he leaves, I get momentarily depressed. Because I miss him and because I’m always worried that Bad Things will happen while he’s away. Like I’ll be the one stuck loading the dishwasher every day and I’ll have to do the lion’s share of the yelling.

But just as I was getting ready to get depressed, my daughter beat me to the punch and got all misty eyed. And then not to be outdone, Young Ladrinka went into full crying mode. Because in addition to missing his father, he’s now worried that the second volcano is going to erupt and his dad is going to be stuck in Paris forever, eating croissants. So I was trying to calm both of them down, with reassuring phrases like “there, there” and “it’s okay” and then my daughter felt better but Young Ladrinka kept crying, pausing mid-heave to tell me that the only thing that has even the slightest chance of making him feel better, and he can’t even guarantee that it will work, is if I take him to Dave & Busters.

Do you know from Dave & Busters? It’s like Las Vegas for kids. A gaming place in the middle of Times Square, which in case you are not a news junkie, is now on car bomb alert. I’ve been to Dave & Busters three times in my life and I’d been hoping to live the rest of it without further visits. So, I told him no. So he wrote his dad a letter.

Dad Please come home! Also if you get stuck in France I'll miss you! Love, your sad son

It made me smile, internally (I have no idea what that means, except that it sounds like a bit of a kegel) because when I was 10, and new to the United States, my parents sent me to Surprise Lake Camp. The real surprise to me was that I was the only person who didn’t speak English and I spend the next few weeks miserable. Or as miserable as I could be, wearing my new Donny & Marie t-shirt. We weren’t allowed to have telephone contact with our parents, but we wrote letters. I wrote letters nonstop, detailing the injustices that I had encountered. And I signed one letter with “and with this, I must end my short and sad letter.”

So Young Ladrinka signing his note to his dad with a “Your Sad Son” makes my heart sing. A melancholy song, to be sure, but still.

One year ago ...

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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }

rima
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 9:52 am

Sounds like your little apple fell directly underneath the tree!

I hope Husbandrinka brings you something really nice from Paris.

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Alex @ LateEnough
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 10:23 am

I can’t wait until my moody 3 and 1/2 year old can write. Because he already says to me: That is NOT okay. You need to go to TIME OUT. But I can’t hit record on my iPhone fast enough.

PS. after 8pm the dave&busters here is kid-free… and awesome.

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Scary Mommy May 4, 2010 at 10:36 am

Those internal smiles are great for bladder control. And, that picture is adorable.

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alexandra
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 11:00 am

Heart breaking. Your husband is a lucky man, to have so much love for him.

Sweetly written, and still funny, too.

Thank you.

P.S. You guys will get Eiffel Tower T-shirts out of this, won’t you?

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Maddnessofme May 4, 2010 at 11:23 am

Is that Sponge Bob dancing with a penis?

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Awesome dude May 4, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Genetic imperfections are hard to rectify…..

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Jeanne May 4, 2010 at 12:39 pm

Sponge Bob? or self-portrait?

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Pauline
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 1:12 pm

Will you be having phone contact with husbandrinka? Those can be fun.

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Erin I'm Gonna Kill Him
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 3:12 pm

Stuck in France, eating croissants, is a Bad Thing I’m dying for.

You might have to make Young Ladrinka aware of the Bad Things that happen in Times Square to avoid further visitation.

You didn’t find your American twin at summer camp? You didn’t switch places and live her life? Oh, that’s just Lindsey Lohan. And no one wants to swap for her life.

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anna see May 4, 2010 at 9:08 pm

How sweet is that?

Part of a Kegel? Hmmm.

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the mama bird diaries
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 9:34 pm

Dave & Busters is awesome. You can get drinks AND drive a simulated race car. Where else can you get that kind of fun.

Thank god you can date that guy who liked your sunglasses while husbandrinka is away.

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Tonya
Twitter:
May 4, 2010 at 9:52 pm

I hear you sister! I hate it when my husband goes out of town. I get really sad, my son gets sad. And then a week goes by and I got to watch awful reality tv (we only have 1 tv) and the son and I have had pizza for 6 days straight and then hubby comes home and fun is over. So then I’m sad again. Which, really, now that I read this, makes me sound like a grass is always greener kind of person or insane.
I love that your son drew Spongebob, I think he’s essential to the sad sentiment.

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dusty earth mother May 4, 2010 at 10:22 pm

I had a bit of a kegel reading this post.

I also wrote sad letters from sleepaway camp; the only difference was that I was wearing a Starsky and Hutch t-shirt and spoke English.

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Sophie May 5, 2010 at 1:35 am

Make him bring you tons of cognac. Husbandrinka, not Ladrinka.

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Noelle May 6, 2010 at 12:48 am

First of all, you’ll need to write a post about how your NOT the one unloading the dishwasher and doing the lion’s share of yelling on a regular basis. That’s how I roll around my place.

Second, I didn’t know your husband looked like Spongebob.

Third, if he DOES happen to get trapped by volcanic ash in Paris, please ask him if he’s only eating HALF of his croissant.

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Noelle May 6, 2010 at 12:48 am

And I totally meant to write “you’re NOT” not your.

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Melissa
Twitter:
May 6, 2010 at 10:07 am

That is so cute. I love kiddie melo-drama. It makes my heart smile which is good because my face is continuously stuck in monster mode.

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