Bringing Them Home
So where do I start? It was a very long, but rewarding weekend. My husband and the boys and I left at 5am on Thursday morning to make the six hour drive to North Carolina to help my daughter and her husband finish packing up their house, pack the moving truck and make the trek back to Maryland to begin their married life with family and friends. We actually made great time, missing traffic and arriving at her house before noon. It was so good to see them again, especially our little granddaughter, who has gained three pounds in the three weeks since I saw her! We had a lunch of many different meats because what was in the freezer had to be eaten and then packed and cleaned. By 7:30 we were finished for the evening and ordered pizza and watched a little more tv before the guys moved it into the truck. Afterward the men made a fire out back and my daughter and I hung out with the baby in the house. We put out the sleeping bags and a few blankets by 10 and by 11 we were all having a sleepover in the livingroom on hard berber carpeting and two very confused dogs who couldn't figure out why we humans were sleeping on their floor! We went through various stages of misery and hysterical laughter throughout the night, especially when the dogs decided my older son's blankets and pillows looked like the comfiest place to sleep and nudged him right off of them and onto the foyer floor.
Morning brought a frenzy with it as the guys put everything left into the truck that we didn't need to clean or tend to the baby and my daughter and I cleaned and tried to keep a fussy 2 month old and a bored six year old satisfied. By 8am the men (and dogs) had left and by 10am we were out the door and making last minute stops around town. By 11:20 we were on the highway and, although it took us nine hours to get home, it wasn't all unpleasant. We had enough to chat about that we didn't need the radio and the kids, for the most part, were very good. Every 2 1/2 hours we would have to take a 30 minute break to feed the baby and change her and let Dakota run around a bit. I think we finally made it home around 7pm.
Saturday was spent trying to help my daughter get her basement apartment at her mother in law's together and eating crabs there with my son in law's family. There is alot to be done and it's going to take some time to get it all together. Sunday morning my daughter and I had coffee on the deck, something I've wanted to do for a long time. Then we had a party here for my other daughter, who is taking off for Tennessee in a few days to have an adventure and try to see what it's like to stand on her own two feet. We had my husband's mother, sister, brother, nephew etc and my mom and dad. We also had Kris, Brian and the baby, which was very nice indeed. Keri introduced us to her new boyfriend, who just happens to be the son of someone I grew up with in majorettes. Small world! The ladies chatted, the baby was passed around and the men pitched horseshoes and made a bonfire in the back yard
Monday we were back to normal at my house, with one huge exception. At various times today my daughter and granddaughter dropped in. What a pleasant surprise to have them here! My granddaughter is starting to coo and smile and she is very taken by both my sons, who are both crazy about her. Tonight, after she got a nice bath and fresh, adorable pink clothes on and while everyone watched tv inside, Natalie and I went out to the deck and I held her so she could see the leaves on the big tree that's beside the deck. She loves the play of light and the colors there! We also already have a game together where I make a kissy sound and she opens here little mouth like a bird, waiting for the kiss she already knows is coming. As I sat with her, rocking gently and watching her study the leaves and sky, I thought about all the times I sat here alone dreaming of the time when she would finally be here with me and... here she is! It still hasn't really hit me that they are really, truly here to stay. I keep waiting for them to say goodbye and pull off in their car and out of my life again.
Morning brought a frenzy with it as the guys put everything left into the truck that we didn't need to clean or tend to the baby and my daughter and I cleaned and tried to keep a fussy 2 month old and a bored six year old satisfied. By 8am the men (and dogs) had left and by 10am we were out the door and making last minute stops around town. By 11:20 we were on the highway and, although it took us nine hours to get home, it wasn't all unpleasant. We had enough to chat about that we didn't need the radio and the kids, for the most part, were very good. Every 2 1/2 hours we would have to take a 30 minute break to feed the baby and change her and let Dakota run around a bit. I think we finally made it home around 7pm.
Saturday was spent trying to help my daughter get her basement apartment at her mother in law's together and eating crabs there with my son in law's family. There is alot to be done and it's going to take some time to get it all together. Sunday morning my daughter and I had coffee on the deck, something I've wanted to do for a long time. Then we had a party here for my other daughter, who is taking off for Tennessee in a few days to have an adventure and try to see what it's like to stand on her own two feet. We had my husband's mother, sister, brother, nephew etc and my mom and dad. We also had Kris, Brian and the baby, which was very nice indeed. Keri introduced us to her new boyfriend, who just happens to be the son of someone I grew up with in majorettes. Small world! The ladies chatted, the baby was passed around and the men pitched horseshoes and made a bonfire in the back yard
Monday we were back to normal at my house, with one huge exception. At various times today my daughter and granddaughter dropped in. What a pleasant surprise to have them here! My granddaughter is starting to coo and smile and she is very taken by both my sons, who are both crazy about her. Tonight, after she got a nice bath and fresh, adorable pink clothes on and while everyone watched tv inside, Natalie and I went out to the deck and I held her so she could see the leaves on the big tree that's beside the deck. She loves the play of light and the colors there! We also already have a game together where I make a kissy sound and she opens here little mouth like a bird, waiting for the kiss she already knows is coming. As I sat with her, rocking gently and watching her study the leaves and sky, I thought about all the times I sat here alone dreaming of the time when she would finally be here with me and... here she is! It still hasn't really hit me that they are really, truly here to stay. I keep waiting for them to say goodbye and pull off in their car and out of my life again.
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