"Da da is all gone."

"When you are going on a journey, pray once.
When you are going to war, pray twice.
But pray three times when you are about to take care of someone else's two small children for four days." (adapted from Russian proverb)

Back story. Through his work, Shulamith's husband Matt won a free, all expense paid trip for two to Costa Rica. It seemed unreal at first; when things seem too good to be true, it's usually because they are. Surely there must be some sort of catch. There wasn't. This trip to an all-inclusive resort in beautiful Costa Rica was absolutely, entirely, 100% free!

But could they really go? Could Shulamith leave her kids for that long? The discussion began. Shulamith doesn't ever leave her kids, even during the day, let alone for four night nights. She was terrified.

I advised her to go. When would such an opportunity come along again? Plus, the timing is perfect. She is between babies; she isn't pregnant, and she doesn't have a newborn.

Still, she hesitated. She generally doesn't share my anxiety disorder (fortunately), but she definitely experienced a taste of it. What if the babies died while she was gone? What if she and Matt died?

"No one is going to die," I reassured her.

In reality, Matt thought I would die. It's not that their kids are so hard to care for; it's their 20-month-old daughter's sleep issues, more precisely, her lack of sleep. Kennedy loves to nurse; most toddlers do if their moms let them, and she especially likes to nurse to sleep. Yeah, that would be a problem. I haven't nursed a baby in 12 years.

I knew I wouldn't die. I promised Shulamith, once again, that no one would die.

She decided to go. Hooray!

Story.  They left in the middle of the night (literally). They had to be at the airport at 4:00 Thursday morning, so she texted me when they were ready to leave, and I sleepwalked downstairs and fell into bed. Kennedy woke up at 4:30. It was a long night after that. She was up and down, screaming in my arms for the next three hours. I picked her up.  I rocked her to sleep. We went back to bed. She woke up screaming. Repeat.

But guess what? The next night was better. Not good, but better. And the last two nights, Shulamith's little baby girl slept like a champ, the final night for nine hours straight!

And I was still alive. Yay!

The only sad moment while they were gone was early Saturday morning. On weekday mornings, Matt often gets up with Swen while Shulamith continues to sleep with Kennedy. He puts Swen in the rocking chair and gives him something to eat, turns on "Paw Patrol," and gets ready for work. So Saturday morning, I was doing these same things for Swen, when he looked up at me and said, "Da da is all gone."

(heartbreak)

"No!!!!" I told him. "Your Da da is not all gone. He went on the airplane with Mom and will be back very soon."

Both days they had been away, Shulamith had Skyped with Swen, so he had seen her and talked to her, but Matt had not been there at those times. Right then I texted Shulamith and suggested that, if possible, it might be a good idea for Matt to Skype with Swen.

They called almost immediately, and you should have seen Swen's little face light up when he saw his Da da! Both Shulamith and I, in different countries, simultaneously wiped a tear from our eye.

Post Story. They returned Sunday evening to their babies in a precious reunion. And Kennedy? The first night with Shulamith back was sketchy, but the last two nights she slept peacefully until past 8:00 a.m., and she's taking longer naps as well. Shulamith said I sleep-trained her. Haha, that's a bit ironic because the phrase "sleep-training" often (though not always) refers to the practice of letting babies "cry it out" alone in their rooms on a schedule of short time periods until they learn to "self soothe." This is a method I ardently disagree with, and I'd never, ever do it. So Shulamith said she will call me the "gentle sleep trainer" or "sleep whisperer."

Either way, I was happy to help and so glad she could go enjoy this time with Matt. You see, I totally owed her. Ten years ago, when she was just nineteen, Gerald and I went to Ecuador, and she stayed home with her three younger brothers, who were 14, 12, and 5 at the time. Then, five years ago, we went to Costa Rica (yep!), and she kept 10-year-old Seth for us. Both times, I remember thanking her and feeling so grateful, because she was really the only one I would have felt safe leaving them with. And I told her that one day, I would repay her.

Their trip was wonderful. From swimming in the ocean to lounging by the pool, from riding ATVs to zip-lining through the rain forest, they had a fabulous time. Here are some photos to prove it: