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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / lifestyle / mamahood / How we survived a week without Zack.

How we survived a week without Zack.

July 7, 2015 · 7 Comments
Filed Under: mamahood, marriage, Zack

kids beach maggie whitley

For all of last week, Zack was in New York City producing a commercial. He left early Monday morning and returned Saturday just in time to have lunch with us. When he first mentioned the possibility of going on this trip I was immediately like, “Yes, go! What are the dates? I’ll put it on the calendar right now.” I knew he really wanted to go, and if he was happy about going then I’d naturally feel happy about him going (I kinda love that’s how our marriage works).

We had a great week, the kids, dog and myself. The days felt more like Zack was working late and wouldn’t be home before bedtime, which is at times frequent around here. Plus, no one over 2-1/4 years old had a meltdown ;) My friends kept checking in on us and I was thrilled to give them such a happy report every time.

park maggie whitley

Before Zack flew out on Monday, I made sure I checked off these five easy tasks:

1. I made sure the fridge & pantry were stocked. Milk, snacks, fresh fruit, breakfast, easy lunches and quick dinners were planned for. I also added any missing ingredients for homemade brownies and my favorite chocolate chip cookies to my shopping list.

2. All of our household necessities were purchased and ready to go. Because I didn’t need to amp up the Witching Hour simply from running out of diapers or toilet paper. No, ma’am.

kids train maggie whitley

3. Every day had at least one fun thing on the agenda. And most days I had two things planned (morning & late afternoon). We went to the park a couple of times, the beach with a group of friends, a local attraction (Travel Town for train rides), had a park play date, visited Target “for fun”, and hosted a play date. We baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies. We watched a movie after bath time, and I let the kids take extra long baths. Each night the kids went to bed clean, exhausted, and happy — every parent’s dream!

bedroom maggie whitley

4. Our laundry basket was manageable from day #1. Even though I love doing the laundry (honest), I didn’t want to cognitively add anything to our week that would make me feel like I was losing my sanity. All week I kept the messes small throughout our apartment, and overall this helped in a huge way.

5. I kept a list of fun things to do myself once the kids were in bed. In the evenings I worked a little bit, read a little bit, and talked with Zack a little bit. Once I even went to bed early! On Tuesday I hosted a mini book club with Cristina once the kids were in bed. We discussed this book, which I absolutely loved because of the humor & quirk.

Some parts of our routine were hard to do with Zack gone, but I managed alright. Besides, sleeping in the middle of the bed because I could wasn’t a bad trade off ;)

park maggie whitley

Aside from all the fun things we did last week, I learned a lot about myself as a wife and mother while Zack was in New York. Things like, it’s not that hard to keep the little piles of “stuff” put away. Or, it’s OK to run into the grocery store at 5pm with both kids, you won’t lose any brain cells (I had been convinced I would). Or, you can handle gracefully taking care of the children full-time for six days and don’t need to remind your husband once he gets home just how much work you did for the family. There’s no need to keep score; we are in this together.

But my goodness, did we have a fun week with Zack gone or what? ;)

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7 Comments
Filed Under: mamahood, marriage, Zack

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Comments

  1. Traci says

    July 7, 2015 at 4:59 am

    Gosh I love you!

    Reply
  2. Katie jones says

    July 7, 2015 at 5:48 am

    I do these same things every week when Josh leaves for work! (4 days at a time)

    Reply
    • Maggie Whitley says

      July 7, 2015 at 10:54 am

      SO GOOD, right? ♥

      Reply
  3. Mom Whitley says

    July 7, 2015 at 6:57 pm

    I so love reading about and sharing your lives, even from far away, and as always am so blessed and thankful God chose you to be Max and Natalies momma, and Zacks wife. It was worth ALL those years of praying for you and who Zack would marry, even before God introduced us all. Love you dearly.

    Reply
    • Maggie Whitley says

      July 8, 2015 at 8:14 am

      Thank you, mom. That is so incredibly sweet of you to share :)

      Reply
  4. Wiebke says

    July 8, 2015 at 1:53 am

    Dear Maggie, Thanks so much for sharing. You are so inspirational! Please reveal, what is the trick? Do you think it is plain a question of organization? Do your kids always go to bed about the same time? I also have two children (6 and 2) but now during the Summer I can’t get them into bed and we sit or lay with them until they fall asleep and as my daughter seems to be transitioning from not quite needing a nap anymore – if she naps she won’t fall asleep before 10 which is really exhausting as I cannot get any work done. I have her at home most of the time but am starting my own Yoga business in September. When do you work? I read you started sewing again? That is just awesome and amazing. Do you have a nanny? Or do you only work at night? Sorry for all these questions but again I find you so uplifting!
    Thanks so much Form sharing. Greetings to L.A. Form Hamburg, Germany.

    Reply
  5. Franchesca says

    July 12, 2015 at 8:31 pm

    What a great attitude. “We are in this together”. I needed that reminder in this season of life. Thank you <3

    Reply

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in metro-Detroit. She has been writing online since 2008.
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“We are preparing to wind down for the school ye “We are preparing to wind down for the school year with just a few more weeks of intentional table lessons. We will then transition to a lighter learning schedule during the summer months. Today I am grateful for the books and resources I’ve read that have helped keep me in my own lane. (Visit my blog to see a personal favorite.)

Even now, three years in, I appreciate the reminder to stay on the path that was designed with intentional thought just for me.”

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I fought every internal comment I could think of a I fought every internal comment I could think of and took my kiddos for a looooong walk today before dinner. ❄️✨ There’s just so much work required to raise children! I’m feeling like a tired lady. But sunshine & fresh air are good companions to keep around. 

We came home and I made “the best dinner ever”. Max specifically announced, “it’s so great you’re launching new meals to the world”. LOL— kids! 🤣👏🏻💓
How about a little Wednesday night introduction? 😘Social media sure has changed over the years and we don’t always SEE who we’re following or remember WHY we’re following certain accounts. 

So, hello! As you can gather, my name is Maggie ;) 

I started writing online (almost 13 years ago) to share the handmade products I was sewing. My shop was called Gussy Sews. ✂️👛I love the community that has grown from sewing & sharing online.

Let’s FFW to today: Zack and I live in Michigan and have four young children (2 boys & 2 girls). I slowly left the handmade industry and walked right into homemaking, homeschooling, and encouraging women through writing. 💕📝

Motherhood has been very hard on me. (And not just because of how close in age our four children are.) It’s been hard for me because I fought for years to accept that *it’s supposed to be hard*. 

I mean, how do you effectively teach another person to know and love the Lord? Bc that’s how I think of motherhood: a calling to nurture others by studying the One who nurtures me. So I gotta make the first move: study the Bible and seek Him first. As my friend Autumn reminded me, vulnerability births transformation. 

(I’ve had to be really vulnerable!)

So, yes motherhood has fully transformed me. But even more so, Christ has fully transformed me. My list of “all that He’s done for me” is off to a beautifully long start.

Something else I want you to know about me: I stalled for years before acknowledging I have anxiety and depression. It’s hard to talk about this because of course this isn’t forever “my hardship”, but rather because acknowledging this means to heal I have to work through some really difficult things. ✨

But my friend Jesus walks alongside me. He’s already done a mighty work in my heart, including helping me process my anger in healthier ways. I’ve also adopted a heart for sisterhood, mothering, and Titus 2 mentorship.

Sometimes our greatest losses are our greatest gains? That’s what I’m clinging to!

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