Today I had to send my boy and his daddy off to the World Series in Oklahoma. Grace is leaving for New York on Sunday with her grandparents, so she and I stayed behind before she exits for a week. Here I'm wrestling another kiss and hug out of him before we said goodbye.
I don't like to be away from my kids. The barometric pressure in my atmosphere changes when they aren't close. And I'm not an obsessive, helicopter mom. Honestly. I just really like them and I like them floating around in my orbit.
The first time I had to leave Grace behind for an overnight debate trip, she was 3-months old. Nyds drove us to drop me at the bus. I leaned in to kiss the cherub goodbye and I thought my heart would plop out in the seat next to her. I unsuccessfully fought back tears and Nyds joined me. It was the hardest climb up those damned bus steps to greet my squad that I have ever made.
But I survived. And so did Grace. And Nyds.
The day will come when they leave and I will have to figure out how to soldier on. And I will, with two pieces of my beating heart broken off and following them from place to place as they live their own lives. But for now, I like hearing "yeah?" when I holler one of their names in the house. I like schlepping Grace to and fro to keep her social calendar active. I like getting minute-by-minute baseball score updates from Drew.
On the other hand, I admit it is fun to have four+ bachelorette-ish days with just my girl and me. This is how she is beginning our little at-home vaca, complete with two coveted recent Bday gifts: a ukelele and a hammock. Not bad, sis. Not bad.
Jealous.
ReplyDelete