Be still my heart. As I stood in the kitchen making dinner, Tessa wandered in, no doubt looking for a snack.
“Momma? Where Daddy, Lauren, and Ellie?”
It was clear as day, even the word “and.” The question word “where,” the list of names… It makes everything worth it – every moment at home, being here as a family, adjusting to each other again, hammering through – worth it.
To be honest, there was a small amount of trepidation in the fact that we declined Extended School Year services. My gut knew she didn’t need it, but with the exception of deciding to marry my husband, there hasn’t ever been a decision in my life that I haven’t over-evaluated. So with this sweet little question, I feel vindicated.
This summer, we expected some chaos. Add a new human to the house and there will be madness. We did not expect the sleep study, or the ER visits for my gallstones, then subsequent hospital stay for the removal of my dead gallbladder, nor the Do-It-ASAP-Tonsil-Removal that so neatly wrapped up our summer of medical madness.
It could be so much worse. It was enough, and we are tired, and Lord, it could be worse.
The tonsil surgery went well, all things considered. There were some rough moments coming out of the anesthesia, and we are still struggling to get Tessa to accept her oral meds as easily as she once did. Still, my own annoyance at watching Frozen and Moana on repeat 18 hours a day since last Thursday afternoon is really the only struggle that has come from the healing process thus far. I have heard that days 7-10 can be awful, when the scabs fall off, but our ENT told us that she has “small stalks” on which her tonsils were growing, so the recovery shouldn’t be as bad as it could be.
So after all of this, we’re ready for some rest and quiet. I’m heading to my DSDN Rockin’ Mom Retreat this coming Friday and it could not be coming at a better time. Last year, I hopped on a plane and flew to Dallas for an amazing weekend connecting with other moms. This year, the fun is coming to me in Chicago. I spent a little time this afternoon reading through my blog post from last year about the trip and thinking about how fabulous I felt coming home from a weekend of connecting with these women. I am so very ready for that feeling again, and feel pretty lucky to have the opportunity to go. I’m terrified to be home on my own with all three children on my own, so I’m thankful that John is willing to be the first to try it – and I’m sure that after this weekend, I’ll owe him some time away as well. 🙂
I feel like there is so much to do between now and Friday when I leave school and head up to the retreat – packing and organizing, wrapping up loose ends at home so that things can be seamless here, planning in advance at work so that the Monday after the retreat is smooth-sailing… it’s a wind-up in order to wind down, but it is so worth it. And since we’ve been on full-throttle for some time now, I’m not sure it will feel much different than how life just is for us in this season. But the relaxation, the conversation, the unrushed breakfast and wine with friends… it’s coming.
Rockin’ Moms Retreat, let’s go! ❤
Yo soy La Lay 
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