Hats Off to Single Working Parents

For the past 11 days, I've been a single working mom.

No, it's not what you think. I'm not permanently single. My husband took our two oldest sons to Rome for their respective graduations. A few years ago, when he was working for a Catholic non-profit agency, he organized a trip to Rome. Unfortunately for me that year, he also went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a couple of cruises, and other work-related travel.

By the time the Rome trip came around, I asked him not to go. Selfish? Yes. Necessary? Yes. He readily agreed that he had spent too much time away from the family that year already, and backed out of the trip. Ever since then, he's been itching to go. So, for the past two years, he's been planning to take our sons.

With a frequent flier ticket for one and a travel contact who allowed them to hook into a Rome trip for a group from another state, it was as economical as we could make it. So off they went.

I was more than happy to take over the business completely for this short time AND to watch over my now shrinking brood--I was left with five, ages 20 months to 11 years. My husband spent many days (and nights) trying to get the business to a place where I would just need to "manage" it for a week and a half. Needless to say, he ran out of time. Prior to their departure, he and the boys spent the night close to LAX. He sent my oldest son off on a different flight, then spent so much time putting everything that I needed to know in writing (pertinent phone numbers, dates, schedules, etc.) that he and my other son missed their flight.

None of us knew that they lock international gates one hour before departure. They arrived 50 minutes before and didn't have to check anything in. However, the airline (I don't want to say which one, cough--Delta--cough) couldn't care less. They also didn't flinch when my husband told them that his other son would be in Rome waiting for them. He and the other two passengers who arrived in time, but late, were out of luck.

They had to wait 24 hours before their trip began, so they missed an entire day in Assisi--as in St. Francis of Assisi. However, they soon caught up with the group and had a wonderful time. They broke away for the last two days and went out on their own.

My oldest son is still touring Europe. He doesn't have any definite plans, but is e-mailing me regularly. He also has a cell phone with a European Sim card.

Anyway, with that explanation, I've been a single working mom. I don't recommend it. I have a new appreciation for those who never get a break. I had a sitter a few times, but that didn't provide me with nearly enough time to do what I needed to do. The physical exhaustion was the worst for me. I think I spent 3/4 of the day cleaning up--breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in between. My teenage son usually handles many chores during the day when he's home. My husband takes over after dinner. The kids were a great help and really super, but there are just some things that they are not old enough to handle--like hauling the giant kitchen trash bag out to the cans. They were able to pull the wheeled trash cans up the driveway and out to the street, though.

It's been scorching hot here and we soon noticed that parts of the lawn were dying. Since I don't know how to adjust these sprinklers (I was a pro at our other house), my 11 year old and I were forced to spend time watering by hand--he the front, and I the back. The lawn is now overgrown and it pains me (and my neighbors, I'm sure) to see it. However, none of us here know how to operate the ride on. That'll be my son's first duty when he returns. I'm sure he's aching to get back to start his chores again.

For the business, I carried my cell phone and my husband's. We have the toll free office number forwarded to my husband's cell phone. I only answered it when it was quiet. Other calls, I returned as soon as it was safe to lock myself in another room. The most fun I had was personally interacting with our local suppliers (I usually handle the out of area suppliers by phone or e-mail). They're really awesome at what they do.

Under normal circumstances, I like to keep my contact with customers at a minimum because my husband is the sales contact. However, I had so many orders that I did visit a few of them, and call and e-mail others. I accomplished so much this week. The best part was collecting the checks and having to go to the bank several days in a row. There are still some outstanding invoices out there because I wasn't sure what my husband was charging for some items and I didn't know how to complete the invoice on Quick Books. I just told the retailers that they'd be receiving their invoices soon.

I received a call from a lone retail customer. We now exclusively deal in a wholesale, or bulk, capacity. However, she had contacted my husband many months ago and now wanted a last-minute Father's Day present for her dad. I happened to have what she needed in stock, and was able to deliver it and pick up the check before Father's Day. It was very profitable for us, and came out of the blue. However, on this order, I had to come up with an invoice, since I would not drop off the items without payment. My husband had left me a few blank ones in case of emergency. I didn't want it to look hokey with my messy handwriting, so I actually typed out everything in a Word document, cut and pasted it on the invoice, and photocopied it. Luckily, my husband had numbered it already. All he needs to do now is input all the information from my invoice to the one his computer that he'll need for his records.

I was also given the contract for T-shirts for a Vacation Bible School at a local parish. I'd like to say that it was my expert sales technique that sold them on our company, but A) I don't have a sales technique, and B) I was referred by a friend. I did, however, with a bit of help from my husband in Rome, compute our costs, give them an estimate (and small discount), order the shirts, and send in the artwork. They want them completed by July 1, but I think they'll be done this week. Cool!

As for Purchase Orders, I usually send them electronically to my suppliers after my husband completes them because he knows exactly what the customer ordered. Since I'm in Order Fulfillment, I track the P.O.'s and art approval from that moment until the products are delivered. I did place many orders and reorders with our local suppliers last week, but we do so much business with them that all I had to do was send them an e-mail, call them, or tell them what I needed in person. These orders will be tracked by the invoices we receive from the supplier. Now that I think about it, I don't even know if my husband will need P.O.'s for them. Just one more question to ask him when he recovers from his jet lag.

During these past 11 days, I realized that there's still so much for me to learn in our business, but I also discovered that I can do it myself~if I have to.