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Last week my in-laws had the kids.
It was a nice break.
I got to do things I don’t normally do.
I went to a movie without talking animals.
I went to breakfast, lunch and dinner with friends.
I slept until 9:30 am. (I don’t think that has happened in over 5 years).
Me and the husband just decided to go to Dallas for dinner. Just like that. Without having to try and find a sitter or pack a diaper back.
I watched a DVD all the way through without being interrupted.
I read like 5 books. Probably more.
I had my eyebrows threaded for the first time (and cried like a baby).
I ate sushi twice.
I napped.
I sat in one of those squishy chairs at Barnes and Noble and read a book that I had no intention of buying.
I made dinner for just me and my husband. And it was stuff I knew my kids wouldn’t eat.
I went downtown almost everyday and handed out cold drinks.
One of my best friends treated me to pedicure.
No one wiggled their way into my bed at 2 am.
Got an allergy test ( 80 needles in my back, not fun).
Had a fun girls night with some of my best friends (again, wendy, sorry about your car).
I stayed up really late almost every night.
I went for a few good runs.

Some things I didn’t do that I should have:
Cleaned my room.
Cleaned my kids rooms. (I could say this about every room of the house, but I think you get the idea).
Unpacked.
Got some work done ( ok, it is summer but I still have a few school things to take care of).
Finished my defensive driving course.
Went to the doctor or dentist.
And probably about a dozen other responsible things.

In other words I had a good week.
But.
Especially when I went to bed and night and went I woke up in the morning.
The house was too quiet.
I missed my kids.
Their giggles. Their smell and even their incessant needs like a bath and another juice box. I did nice grown up things, but it still didn’t feel like summer because I wasn’t dragging my kids to the pool and the science museum and wiping the blue snow cone off their face (and yes, mine too). One morning I literally wondered longingly, how long it had been since I changed a diaper.

So yesterday, when we hit the road again to pick them up.
I drove too fast.
I didn’t stop when I was hungry.
I went straight to them.

And my son smiled big and wide and was even cuter than I remembered.
And my daughter had new freckles and her face seemed rounder and she knows like 20 new words.

And even though they fought and whined most of the drive back
And the fact that I slept miserably last night, due to a certain little girl who kept waking me up and elbowing me in the face.
And even though my house was already messy, it was pure disaster within minutes of their return.
And even though my little girl was already fond of saying “no” she has now progressed to saying “no way!”
I am grateful for the noise and the mess and the kisses and the snuggles and even a few dirty diapers.

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Comments

Hyacynth said…
Can I just say me too! A resounding me too at that. Oh they are good, and they are worth every elbow in the face during the night and messy dish in the living room. Nothing like a little break to show us that!
July 4, 2010 at 9:44 AM
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