The weekend was a rousing success from start to finish, and Louisville really is charming in so many ways. I have pictures and stories to share in due time, but those can wait until morning. In the mean time, I wanted to tell you a bit about the joy that was coming home to my sweetest baby girl. I was missing her dearly on my way home, and I arrived just in time for her to wake up from her nap. She started calling for the hubby to get her, and I slipped into her room instead to surprise her. She was standing in her crib with messy bed head, and when she saw me, she looked as though she couldn’t believe her eyes. I told her how much I missed her and asked if I could pick her up (I didn’t want to alarm her too much). She simply said “uh huh” with wide-eyed wonder. When I pulled her to me, she wrapped her arms and legs around me as tightly as she could and simply squeezed. I squeezed her back as my poor heart ached in happiness, and we held each other for a long while. She snuggled her face into the sweet spot on my shoulder that she has loved since she was an infant, then, her little hand started to ever so gently pat me on the back and stroke my hair. She peeked up from snuggly bliss, looked at me, smiled, and settled back in for several minutes. Then, she looked up once again to plant the sweetest of kisses on my lips, only to tuck her arms in to her body and allow me to hold her close. We stayed that way for a long, long time, a definite deviation from her normal boundless energy, and oh, let me tell you between that and the warmth of the husband’s reception, it was all I needed to know that I was loved and missed. If I could just bottle that feeling and share it with you I would, because it’s pure bliss.
As someone who’s home with my daughter every day, I’m happy and proud that she is confident enough to be just fine without me around all the time and to know that we each thrived in having a break from the routines that we quickly tire of and take for granted. It is, on the other hand, so very GOOD to re-connect with her and know we both missed each other and the dance that is our day-to-day life. I think that we will both find comfort and warmth in our routines this week as well as a fresh sense of appreciation for one another that can only come from time apart. I’m ready now; bring it on.
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