My kids are 3 and 7. I am the default parent and I have a super high pressure job. My husband took a new job and failed to tell me it would require international travel and he’s out of the country for 6 days.

It’s only been 3 days and I’m just so burned out. My kids are at camp/daycare when I’m working. But my job is so exhausting that by the time kids get them home I am still racing around with dinner and clean up and bedtime. I find myself rushing through bedtime stories just so I can get them in bed faster. I find myself counting down the seconds until 8pm.

Today I basically had to take 3 hours off of work to take them to their yearly physicals and my 3 year old was a nightmare. Climbing all over me. Screaming. And then I had to drive for 45 minutes from the doctor driving them to their (different) respective places before I could finally go to work. I was so overstimulated by the time I got to work I felt like I was barely functioning.

I feel so guilty. I love my kids. But I can’t get them into bed fast enough and just fall onto the couch and zone out.