I can hardly believe it. My kids will be home from their Carolina summer in about 17 hours, and in about five hours I will begin counting the minutes. For the past three months I have been imagining their every moment. For the last three weeks they have been asking about every little detail back here at their new home. For the last few days I have been holding them, playing with them, smelling and feeling them in my heart and mind, in my mother soul. It is the most real kind of ache to have had them gone, and now it's time for it all to begin again - the running around like crazy, the homework (3 kids in grade schooll!!), meal after meal, and load after load of laundry. No matter how much I brace myself and organize the house, it will feel like a massive tornado around here. But the hugs alone will be worth it. Somehow, I will attempt to keep the ground beneath me a little better than last year, which was a little better than the year before.
So what about VIP? I bring it up because I have been basking in a life of no cooking and wonderful little nuggets of comfort. To mention a few little examples . . .
1) From the previous post - VIP tickets to the James Taylor concert at USANA
2) VIP tickets to the WILCO concert at Red Butte Gardens
3) Thanks to Susan, a very VIP road trip (yes, even the driving was part of the wonderful package) to Las Vegas, including a night at the Paris Hotel, a French waiter (Captain David) at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, the best massage in the world, and shopping at H&M.
4) A special VIP lunch and tour of the Monet to Picasso exhibit at the University Museum of Fine Arts
5) An incredible six course meal cooked especially for my friend and me (her guest) by her brother, the chef, at his Italian Restaurant. Fresh Italian breads, endive salad with gorgonzola cheese, Truffle Risotto, Halibut cooked to perfection, green beans, and Mascarpone Gelato. Two words that describe each course: fat and succulent
Although I hiked two mountains (Timp and Olympus) and spent quality time in the beautiful surrounding canyons, I never did go on that elaborate vacation I had in mind with all the extra time this summer. Funds are shorter than ever, so what else can I do but hope for someone else to provide? I promise, these little VIP opportunities just begged me to join. and I didn't put up a fight. Would you?
It's funny though. Or rather it isn't a surprise at all that no VIP treatment could ever compare to those "I love you" or "Thank you for all you do, Mommy" comments I sometimes get from one of my sweet children. Yes, much of the time I feel more like a NAP - that is a Never Awake Person who is only a VIP in a Very Insane Person way. But at the end of the day, even the The "I don't ever want to see my sister again", and "you are the worst mom" comments somehow blend into the motherhood mix with everything else wonderful and terrible, and what comes out in the end is just more love. It's actually a lot like finding truffles. To find these delicacies - not quite a mushroom, but definitely in the fungus family - pigs and dogs are sent out to sniff where they might be buried underground. The truffles are then collected and imported from Europe, or some other place, for the finest dining. A perfect example of how something so seemingly base (such as some parental tasks) can bring forth something so wonderful.
Might I suggest that if you are ever in a situation where truffles present themselves to you, take advantage of the opportunity to try them. They are divine.
So what about VIP? I bring it up because I have been basking in a life of no cooking and wonderful little nuggets of comfort. To mention a few little examples . . .
1) From the previous post - VIP tickets to the James Taylor concert at USANA
2) VIP tickets to the WILCO concert at Red Butte Gardens
3) Thanks to Susan, a very VIP road trip (yes, even the driving was part of the wonderful package) to Las Vegas, including a night at the Paris Hotel, a French waiter (Captain David) at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, the best massage in the world, and shopping at H&M.
4) A special VIP lunch and tour of the Monet to Picasso exhibit at the University Museum of Fine Arts
5) An incredible six course meal cooked especially for my friend and me (her guest) by her brother, the chef, at his Italian Restaurant. Fresh Italian breads, endive salad with gorgonzola cheese, Truffle Risotto, Halibut cooked to perfection, green beans, and Mascarpone Gelato. Two words that describe each course: fat and succulent
Although I hiked two mountains (Timp and Olympus) and spent quality time in the beautiful surrounding canyons, I never did go on that elaborate vacation I had in mind with all the extra time this summer. Funds are shorter than ever, so what else can I do but hope for someone else to provide? I promise, these little VIP opportunities just begged me to join. and I didn't put up a fight. Would you?
It's funny though. Or rather it isn't a surprise at all that no VIP treatment could ever compare to those "I love you" or "Thank you for all you do, Mommy" comments I sometimes get from one of my sweet children. Yes, much of the time I feel more like a NAP - that is a Never Awake Person who is only a VIP in a Very Insane Person way. But at the end of the day, even the The "I don't ever want to see my sister again", and "you are the worst mom" comments somehow blend into the motherhood mix with everything else wonderful and terrible, and what comes out in the end is just more love. It's actually a lot like finding truffles. To find these delicacies - not quite a mushroom, but definitely in the fungus family - pigs and dogs are sent out to sniff where they might be buried underground. The truffles are then collected and imported from Europe, or some other place, for the finest dining. A perfect example of how something so seemingly base (such as some parental tasks) can bring forth something so wonderful.
Might I suggest that if you are ever in a situation where truffles present themselves to you, take advantage of the opportunity to try them. They are divine.
3 comments:
I think you described this eloquently. It is so important to enjoy the little things in life because really, how often do "big" things really happen? Life can fly by so quickly if all you look forward to are the "big" things.
I am so glad you get to enjoy your kids soon, we will definately have to get together for lunch one day while they are in school-and when my kids and yours are out we should go to the zoo or something with all of them!
Wow--you actually tried truffles. I've always been curious about what they taste like and why on earth people pay so much money for them.
I laughed a little at the "I never want to see my sister again" comment. We Stewart girls can push each other's buttons quite a bit, can't we?
I'm excited for you to get the kiddies back. I've missed them too. If you finances get better and you want that really nice vacation, I'll babysit for you.
So interesting I should read this today. Akilesh left 10 days ago and Ryan this morning to go back to Canada, and the apartment feels so empty now. As I was driving back from the airport today, I thought about how much I love these two boys and how much I miss having them around all the time. I thought, "That's what parents must feel when they see their kids grow up and leave the nest!"
I am glad your little ones are back. :)
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