Bliss (?)

Blink. Blink. Yaaaaawnn. Stretch. Yaaaawn.

Ahh it's 8:30a.m., not 7:30.

I did not wake up thinking, "I have 5 minutes to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before he gets up."

No one woke me up in the middle of the night with bad dreams frights, teething issues or just because they damn well felt like it.

I did not have to change anyone's pee soaked diaper and then wrestle that certain someone into an outfit for the day, or at least until he spilled his breakfast on it.

Inside, I allowed myself to lay in bed a bit and wake up slow. Then I went into the bathroom inspected my face, flossed and brushed my teeth. I headed into the closet to figure out what to wear for my morning run.

I ran outside. Without pushing a stroller full of bored, whining toddler. I did not have to stop because shoes needed to be removed, then out back on, then removed again. No one begged to be released from the grip of the stroller so they might be able to play in the sand or the water or the sand and water.

Today Josh and I will run errands, eat lunch and go to a 30th birthday party of one of my best friends without a second thought. No diapers to change. No nap to schedule around. No sitter to debrief before we depart.

Parker is lucky enough to have grandparents who love him TREMENDOUSLY.

He is at their house now, so Josh and I could get some stuff done around here and go to a party tonight. Pman has spent time at their house many times before. He does great when he is there. J and I enjoy the quiet, but we miss our Parker.

No Parker also means I did not wake up to the happy giggles from his crib that I usually hear as I open his door in the morning. I also missed hearing him say, "Mommy!" with sheer delight.

We did not sit on the couch together this morning with our standard issued milk (him) and coffee (me) and watch Blue Clue's.

I ate a Fiber One bar and drank a hurried glass of water, in silence, before my run. This replaced my normal routine of Fruit Loops (him) and Mini Wheats (me) at the table while we listen to Toddler Tunes on the TV.

The toys are put away nicely, not scattered around haphazardly.

This is nice, but tomorrow, when I am back with Parker in his world of laughter, chaos, crushed cookie and sticky lollipops, the world will be right again.


Until then, one last good sttttrrreeeetttch!

How Does Their Garden Grow?

Confession: I cannot and do not garden. I'm ok with it.  I have other talents like lounging on the beach with Pman, sitting quietly while getting a pedicure and laughing without abandon at all thing The Soup. In my fantasy life Joel McHale and I are BFF's.

I do have an aloe plant that has been in my family for a long time. I know that sounds weird. My dad had cancer for the first time when I was about 10.  One of his treatments involved radiation. My mom grew an aloe plant and when my dad would come home from the treatments, she would cut off a spiky stem, slice it long-ways and rub it on his chest, letting the soothing goo comfort him.

My sisters and I all have little off shoots of this plant.


Truth be told keeping an aloe plant alive is very easy. It's like a cactus. A little water, a lot of sun and you are good to go.

Other than that, I am terrible at keeping plants alive. I hear hydrangeas are easy, but I killed them. Pansies? Yep, dead too.

In our house Josh does the gardening. He has several potted plants in our front yard. Every day when he comes home from work, he grabs Pman and they go check the plants together. This is one of my favorite things and I have nothing to do with it.

Tonight, we will dine on green beans that my guys grew for us. THAT, is love.

                             

How does MY garden grow?

I'm not sure, but it is happening very fast.