Short and sweet

From this morning:

Parenthood gives me the gift of appreciation. Right now I'm lounging on the couch under a cozy blanket, reading the Mt Diablo magazine that keeps getting delivered to our house despite our not having a subscription. Drinking warmed up coffee and eating Trader Joe's biscotti, hearing the white noise machine rain falling in the big kids room. I've been sleeping on a mattress on their floor for weeks and the hardest part has been not getting even a moment to myself in the mornings. Often they've made their way to either side of me on the floor so getting up to go pee has been their wake-up. Having this almost-silence, this slice of time to myself, is a balm.

From now:

The kids are at Stephanie's and I've been craving them for hours. Maybe because I am working and want to worm my way out of things I need to do. Maybe because I'm going to a play with my brother tonight so it will be many many hours away from those sweet faces. I need to buy dog food, the kitchen needs to be cleaned, I'm doing my timecard, So much to do and I know as soon as I see them my heart will be soothed. And as soon as we get home chaos will ensue.