Homecoming

It has been: 147 days and 146 nights, measured in 21 art project Mondays, 15 dance parties, 10 Friday night slumber parties, 5 trips to the zoo and / or museum, 4 visits to the apple orchard, 2 visits to the pumpkin farm, 2 blizzards, 1 broken garage door, 1 kitchen flood and 7 full days of the stomach flu.  It cost 5 bottles of carpet cleaner, 4 pallets of diet coke, 3 bottles of wine, 2 days of cell phone minutes, and of course 1 bottle of advil.  None of it matters now, because we made it.

Everything I listed is true, and some of it actually happened. 

What have I learned? 

Know your own limitations.  Admit when you need help.  Accept help when it is offered.   Listen to people when they talk.  Don’t ask for advice if you aren’t willing to accept it.  Believe in yourself. 

Sometimes all you need is someone to listen.  Even when you are 27 it is okay to call your Mom to make it better.  No matter how old you get, nothing makes you feel as safe as a hug from your Dad. 

It is okay to get angry.  Don’t hold people accountable for what they don’t know or things that are out of their control.  Be honest about your feelings.  If you wouldn’t say something directly to someone, don’t say it about them.

Say thank you.  Point out the good in others, especially your children.  Accept the good in yourself.

Say I love, every time, even when you are mad.  Make time for your spouse, even when you are tired, even when it is a new episode of glee.  Be vulnerable to love of someone else.

It is okay to stay up late to snuggle.  The dishes can wait until tomorrow, reading an extra chapter is more important.  Sometimes, it is okay to cookie crisp for dinner.  There are few things in the world not made better by a dance party or a nap.     

This chapter of our life is coming to a close.  I will always cherish this time that I have had with my little women –I have been so lucky to have them all to myself in our own little world for so long and now the three Little Fischer Women are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our missing piece, our most important thing, our best friend.