We get to talk uninterrupted. We can go to non-kid friendly restaurants and stuff ourselves with margaritas, chips and salsa. Or we can cook a dinner together that does not involve food in nugget, stick or dog form. We can watch movies that do not have any talking animals or animated characters. In other words we get to be adults.
We also love it because we get to experience a peaceful night sleep. The kind of sleep where you don't have one ear open waiting to hear your child's cries. Deep, restorative sleep. Sleep that is only interrupted by a cat who decides the most comfortable place in all the world is on your feet. A nine pound cat, who in that magical sleeping cat form now weighs 1,000 pounds. And you have to struggle out from under this magically heavy sleeping cat to find a more comfortable position.
But that interruption is minor and your sleep is blissful. When you wake, you have no idea how long you've slept but you know that you are rested. Its only by the faint light behind your curtains, that you realize it is morning. You fumble for your glasses to read the clock and see the numbers six, four, zero.
You smile and wait for the sounds you know are coming, the fumbling of a door knob and the running of little feet. You wait for 33 pounds to launch itself onto your bed. You wait for a little girl, still warm from sleep, to dive underneath the covers. You wait for knees to find your stomach, for feet to kick your thighs, for little hands to reach out for yours. You wait for your morning ritual to begin.
Maybe with your hands clasped together, you will drift back to sleep. Or on weekend mornings, like today, the three of you will lie there giggling and whispering of upcoming adventures. On weekday mornings, she will try to hide under the covers when daddy returns from the shower. I say try to hide because one cannot successfully hide when one is giggling and "whispering" in an outside voice. But daddy plays along, pretending she's not there in that wiggling, giggling lump under the covers, all so she can jump up and yell Boo! And then, at 7 a.m., you can go downstairs and begin the day.
The noises you are waiting to hear don't come. The house is quiet. You realize that she is not here. The enjoyable evening you shared with husband and the restful night sleep you had don't seem as wonderful. There is something missing.
The morning that should hold so much promise because it is yours alone seems rather empty. You could get up and head out the door to run, the pounding of your feet on the earth, the cool crisp air in your lungs would surely energize you. You could make a pot of coffee and putter around the house, open the computer and read the blogs you have been neglecting for so long. Or you could hold on to the sleep that is slowly leaving your body, pull it back to you and drift back into its warm embrace.
You could do any of those things, but your heart's not really in it. The light that makes your day brighter, isn't here. So you just lie there and wait for it to return.
Suddenly, you hear a cry and feel a weight jump onto the bed. Is it her? Your heart starts warm with the possibility that maybe it was just a dream. That maybe she is really here.
No, she is not here. Its just one of your fur babies. The cat has seen you move and is now demanding to be fed. So you give up, get out of bed way too early and begin your day.
And you figure as long as you are up, you should make your stupid football picks (winners in bold and red):
Houston @ Cincinnati
Detroit @ Green Bay
St. Louis @ Jacksonville
Baltimore @ Minnesota
NY Giants @ New Orleans
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh
Carolina @ Tampa Bay
Kansas City @ Washington
Philadelphia @ Oakland
Arizona @ Seattle
Tennessee @ New England
Buffalo @ NY Jets
Chicago @ Atlanta
Monday Night Football:
Denver @ San Diego
Combined score: 42
Check out the rest of the BFL action here.
9 comments:
I was all 'awww this post is making me weepy' Then you posted your picks...LOL! good transition I never saw it coming :O)
Glad your night was good, hope your morning is made better soon when Bunny gets home. Good luck this week.
haha - love the random football finish there, you dork! *MUAH*
I can't wait for Cupcake to have sleepovers with friends.
You captured this feeling perfectly! This is how I feel each and every time we wake up without the children at home. Kind of weird how much they change you and when you think you wanted a break, you really yearn for them to still be around.
Great post Renee. When my kids are at my in-laws, my husband and I often find ourselves talking about what time we are going to go get them the whole time they are gone.
That being said... my in-laws have been in London for a month now and I am so in need of a night off. :-)
I can't imagine what it's like to have Fiona sleep away...since our closest relatives are three hours away, she hasn't done that yet! I loved this post - and hope you won in football! hehe!
I felt like that when I had my spa weekend (anniversary present). As much as I love being by myself, and I love nice hotel rooms, and I love reading/watching girly TV...you get the idea...I still woke up at 6:30 and tossed and turned until it was a reasonable time for someone on vacation to get up. And I was so anxious about what they were doing while I was gone. It's hard to be away (or for them to be away...)
She is only 33lbs? Light as a feather..leave it to her aunt to pick that out from your beautiful post..LOL. Bunny's cousin is 50lbs!! The scary part is her brother (4 yrs older, remember) is only 6 lbs heavier...YIKES!!! Anyway, sorry we could come out and play on Saturday. I think the worst of this virus is over!! Crossing fingers and toes.
Beautiful post...the end make me crack up though. :)
I always enjoy time away and then I enjoy coming home that much more.
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