Happy Ending

Today felt like one of the longest days of the longest weeks of my life. I am grumpy, stressed, overtired and feeling guilty about not being a very good wife, mommy, daughter, sister or friend. Unfortunately, I am going to have to keep up this pace for a few more weeks until things at work "should" slow down. And so it was that I left the office feeling pretty miserable. Before the move, I had about 10 minutes in the car to regroup and put on a happy face. Now I have about 3 minutes. Certainly not enough time to snap out of it.

And then I pulled up the long driveway to the part of our yard that is hidden from the road to find Casey, Riley, Winston and Wrigley all playing ball in our huge new lawn. It was such a wonderful moment to witness - Riley standing with a bat in his hand hitting a ball off a tee, Casey with the lacrosse stick in hand throwing the ball for Wrigley, and Winston happily supervising the scene with tail wagging at an incredible pace. It was one of those moments in time that you wish you could just freeze.

But time doesn't stand still, and when they heard my car, everything changed. But instead of a moment ruined, it got better. By the time I had put the car in park, Winston and Wrigley were at my drivers side door waiting for me to step out and Riley was running full speed in my direction... to throw himself at my legs to give me a great big hug.

Meanwhile, Casey disappears from sight leaving me to play in the yard with my three babies on an unseasonably warm fall evening only for me to realize that he has left because he is tending to dinner.

Guess I didn't need 10 minutes to snap out of it after all.

Girls

I thought I'd have at least 10 more years before I had to address this topic, but it appears that like with most things, you are ahead of my schedule. Today Daddy reported that when he picked you up from school you were excited to see him, as always. But today, when you went to say goodbye to your friends, not only did you give out hugs, but you also gave Gracie a kiss... On the lips.

I should also point out that when I dropped you off at school this morning, you pointed at a little girl who was walking into school with her mom and said, "Mommy, my girlfriend."

Really?!?