My husband left town for a couple days this last week. Every year he goes to a big swap meet in Portland. It’s miles and miles of car parts. I’ve never gone with him to this particular swap meet. And actually I’ve only been to one or two swap meets with him at all. Truthfully, I really couldn’t care less about car parts and he probably has a better time without me anyway. What guy wants a bored wife following him around asking if he’s done looking?

This is the only swap meet where he’s gone over night. He used to leave Wednesday night and come home on Sunday afternoon. Now he leaves Thursday morning and comes back late Friday night. I’m surprised he leaves at all.

You see, I tend to get in trouble when he’s gone. We’ve been married 20 years now and every time he comes home something major has changed. I’ve started major remodels he’s had to come home and finish. I’ve bought large items he’s had to help bring into the house. One year he came home to find that my mother was moving in with us.

Having my mother move in was logical at the time. My father had passed away six months before and I was worried about my mother’s health. With two small children at home, it was easier for me to check up on her if she was living with me. I also had the warped notion I think every overwhelmed, young mother has in the back of her head: “My mom will move in and take over the mothering so I don’t have to.”

I don’t know if my husband shortened his time at this big swap meet because he figured less time would mean less trouble I could get into or if he decided four days was too long. But last year – his first shortened year – he came home to find we had acquired two rats and one rabbit. So if his plan was to lessen the chances of me getting in trouble, it didn’t work.

He’s usually pretty easy going about it and although sometimes reluctant to help with my convoluted plans, always does. I don’t know what happens to my judgment when my husband leaves, it’s not like I’m some oppressed wife. But apparently I’m not the only one it happens to. I’ve written about these crazy decisions on my blog and the phrase “when the husband’s away the wife will play” is one of the biggest search phrases that directs people to my website.

But I’m not naïve enough to think these people are using these search phrases because they are thinking of moving their mothers into their homes or buying rats. I’ve thought about taking that particular blog down, but, who knows, maybe I’ve picked up some fans along the way?

Most things have worked out for the better. My mother lived with us for about 2 ½ years, then hightailed it back to her mobile home; I think to get some peace and quiet away from a chaotic house full of energetic children. I realized you can’t go back and I couldn’t revert back to my own childhood by having my mother move in with me. But we were left with a spare room that has come in handy as my kids have gotten older and is now the computer/craft/hobby room.

The house remodels have always turned out well and have kept the house updated over the years. The rats have continued to delight my older daughter, although one recently went to the big rathouse in the sky. The rabbit didn’t turn out so well and went back to the rabbit rescue from which it came. Some large pieces of furniture were good ideas, some weren’t.

I think my husband’s ultimate reason for shortening his time at the swap meet was because age is catching up with him. It’s much easier to recover from two days of pounding the pavement than it is recovering from four days. Or maybe you could call it growing up; when you’ve seen enough, you’ve seen enough?

So what trouble did I get into this year? None. Maybe age is catching up with me? Maybe I’m growing up? But probably not. I did go shopping for some large containers to revamp my front yard garden. I think I just ran out of time, which means my husband’s plan may be working after all.

Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. She is committed to writing about the humor amidst the chaos of a family. You can read more of her writing and her daily blog on her website livingwithgleigh.com.