I Remain

I have to admit that I haven't been feeling very "bloggy" lately. While this isn't expected, it's also not a surprise. When there are so many irons in the fire, it's understandable that one might just glide right off the page at some point. This happens often, but I remain.

I have been off on vacation all week, and I am living every moment of it. Some of my favorite times are early morning, as my children all rise. I welcome them to my bed to snuggle for awhile before that first trek down the steps. The K-cup is my reward at that point, and our days lazily unfold. Today, two of the five children I spent my day with (mine plus my lovely niece, Julia) met their daddy at the door in pajamas when he arrived home from work at 5 p.m. Besides the fact that this is living, this is right, Daddy said, and it's true, "It means less laundry!"

I am a homebody. I can keep myself pretty happy and fulfilled with the constant cleaning, cooking, dishes, laundry. I am in that happy stage of motherhood where I occasionally sit down to nurse that beautiful baby on the couch. I have a perspective I couldn't have dreamed to find years ago.

I also have blessings beyond belief--most of them in human form. I have spent many evenings and days with my extended family this holiday. There have been mouth-watering meals, too many snacks, lots of funny conversations and board game shenanigans that caused me to smile and laugh so hard that my cheeks hurt. Again, I say, this is living, this is the way it should be.

And so, who needs to blog at a time like this? I'm going to keep living it up the next four days. And, by living it up, I mean changing dirty diapers, breaking up fights among my children, washing my dishes by hand three times a day, but also enjoying that shopping trip with my mom, welcoming dear friends to my home for games and drinks and festivities, joining extended family to ring in the new year and loving on my amazing hubby and kiddos.

My vacations don't take me to the beach or Europe or on a Carribbean cruise. They simply take me to a simpler life at home: one where I'm not calling in favors to care for my children, not being a slave to the clock to hit my targets, not worrying about a million details that won't matter in a week, let alone in a year, a decade, a lifetime.

Nope. My vacations are of the less extravagant variety. They show me what matters, what is real, what is right.

They prove to me that, in spite of it all, I remain.