Echoes
My house is empty now.
First there was the hum of anticipation. Weeks of excitement, preparation, emotional readiness, saying to each other: the kids are coming. My babies are coming.
There really wasn't time to do any fun prep not like the first time. No flowers in the bedroom, no special foods in the house. It's a busy time of year and I was lucky just to get a day and a half off. But that, in itself was great.
And then they were here. And the house was filled with life and fun and electronic devices. There was stuff everywhere, and conversation could be had just by turning your head in one direction or the other; there was someone there. With a shared past.
Even when we did nothing, we were doing something. We were being a family, and I have missed that so much.
I was afraid the weekend would be short, but it was actually a good stretch of time. We managed to get some fun into it... a concert, the wildlife center, some shopping downtown, visits with GRP. He loved it; it made his month. We even had a rainbow.
Then it ended. The towels are washed and put away, the beds stripped and remade, the kitchen cleaned and empty again. The piano has been tuned. We are back to our routine -- or will be, after Yom Kippur.
And now the house echoes from the weekend, and we rehash the moments, and look at the photos on Facebook, and wait for the next time. It's nice to have things to look forward to, and memories to look back on.
First there was the hum of anticipation. Weeks of excitement, preparation, emotional readiness, saying to each other: the kids are coming. My babies are coming.
There really wasn't time to do any fun prep not like the first time. No flowers in the bedroom, no special foods in the house. It's a busy time of year and I was lucky just to get a day and a half off. But that, in itself was great.
And then they were here. And the house was filled with life and fun and electronic devices. There was stuff everywhere, and conversation could be had just by turning your head in one direction or the other; there was someone there. With a shared past.
Even when we did nothing, we were doing something. We were being a family, and I have missed that so much.
I was afraid the weekend would be short, but it was actually a good stretch of time. We managed to get some fun into it... a concert, the wildlife center, some shopping downtown, visits with GRP. He loved it; it made his month. We even had a rainbow.
Then it ended. The towels are washed and put away, the beds stripped and remade, the kitchen cleaned and empty again. The piano has been tuned. We are back to our routine -- or will be, after Yom Kippur.
And now the house echoes from the weekend, and we rehash the moments, and look at the photos on Facebook, and wait for the next time. It's nice to have things to look forward to, and memories to look back on.