But anyway, enough with the contemplative stuff. More about the fun weekend! So, I totally ran, without stopping (thankyouverymuch) a 10K, and that was even with multiple (minor, but painful) issues with my legs and feet. I got to listen to almost 9 total hours of uninterrupted music of my own choice. I got to sleep in until 9:00 am. I got to spend quality time with one of my best friends in the whole, wide, world, and I shared some of that time with her sister and nephew, who coincidentally are equally as wonderful. I got to buy gourmet cupcakes and eat them without guilt (see above mention of running a 10K...hellllooo, "free" calories!). I got to briefly spend time in quite possibly one of the cutest cities in the Midwest, and drink coffee and eat in places that I feel like were built and run by people with heart and passion and goodness. And I did all this and then drove out of Madison with tears streaming down my face. Because I was so happy with the past 48 hours of my short trip, and I was so happy to be driving back home to a husband and kids that I love so much that I miss even when I'm gone for such a short time.
And then, because it wouldn't be my blog without a good story, I have to briefly touch on the crazy-chaotic first ten minutes of my time back home. So I walked in to my house to loud dog barking (Brutus does that every time anyone pulls in our driveway, even if it's a vehicle that he knows one of us drive), Milo shaking the baby gate bars with happiness (soooo cute!), and sobs from Ivy. I peered over the baby gate and Ivy was standing in a brand new, adorable outfit. And a puddle of urine. She so rarely wets her pants (like maybe she's done that once in the past 6 months...if even that), but knowing that Brian and Kathy were waiting to leave for a belated Mother's Day dinner, I swept in and convincingly said something like, "Go, go. I've totally got this." And I ran bath water, and I tried to give Max the attention he was craving, and I stuck Milo in his crib because I was worried he would crawl through the before mentioned puddle of pee in the dining room. So then Milo started crying because he doesn't like being confined to anything especially his bed, and Max got needier and whinier, and I was trying to bathe Ivy. And as I was rinsing water through her hair to get the last of the shampoo out I found what I thought was a pumpkin seed tangled in her hair. Which I quickly realized was a bug. Which I then tried to pull out without panicking. But it wouldn't come out. So I got tweezers, and tried to muster out in a non squeaky voice, "Hold still, Ivy. Something is stuck in your hair." And I pulled it out, and she cried, and I quickly texted a picture to Brian. And he promptly called to say it was a tick.
Lots of inward freaking out ensued. I don't do well with bugs and blood. Especially when the bug is still alive and crawling around in a red, plastic Target brand baggie in my kitchen. Numerous phone calls and texts to the on call pediatrician later, it was determined that it was a dog tick and not a deer tick, so despite the fact that it had probably been attached to her for days (ew!), there wasn't cause for concern. In the meantime, I finished Ivy's bath, fed all three kids, cleaned up the puddle of pee on the floor, and tried not to cry. Welcome home, right? :)
Call me crazy though, but I wouldn't trade any of it (minus the tick part; I wouldn't be sad if that had never happened). It's not about payback for the good weekend. Or the bad outweighing the good. It's just about contentment and happiness and Faith and being surrounded by love all mixed together with some other things that I can't put into words. And I feel like I have that. As impossible as it is to describe, I still proudly claim to obtain it.
