Even though I don't leave Washington until this weekend, I'm already getting emotional just thinking about it, so I figure that I should write this post now before I'm a total wreck. Before I booked tickets to come home I asked my Mom if she thought 9 weeks would be too long of a visit. She said that as long we Ryan is here it'll be fine...which it was. I've had such a wonderful time, and if I weren't so excited about going to see Andrew I'd love to stay here even longer.
We have done so many fun things as a family and I've made so many great memories. I'll just write about a couple of my favorite so far. I'll just warn you that most of these stories are the kind that you have to add "you just had to be there" at the end. Sorry.
One of the funnest times that I had with my Mom was the day after she got her tooth pulled. She was pretty sore, and VERY swollen. She said that morning that she looked like a monkey, and I said that she looked more like a chipmunk. Later that day we were driving somewhere and she commented on how bad she looked and I brought up again how she looked like a chipmunk. That got us both laughing. The problem was that when she laughed it really hurt and the more that she said it hurt and told me not to make her laugh, the harder that I laughed. I just think that there is something about sharing a real, hearty laugh with someone, and I don't remember the last time that I did that with my Mom.
One of the funnest things that I did with my Dad was when we went to the Cannery. It was nice to get to spend time with him, even though we were on opposite sides of the room in hair nets. It was nice to see that even though he is extremely busy that he still takes time out of his schedule to serve others. After we canned we went to McDonald's for dessert (I can always count on him for that) and we had a really nice talk. I'm so grateful that I have the type of relationship with him where I feel like I can tell him anything.
One thing that I've learned is that parents just do the best they can. I asked my Mom a few days ago if she would do some things differently. She said that if she could do it all over again she would be more relaxed and funner. I asked if she would do things differently with how she handled Andy being sick (I have some issues with her on that, but I'm working on it) and she said that she did the best that she could (so basically NO). Even though I've asked her that question multiple times and she always says that same thing, I guess that I still hoped that she would say yes; that she would have spent more time with me, gave me more attention, etc...but I think that being a parent has helped me be o.k. with the fact that she did do the best she could, and that's good enough for me.
I've enjoyed so much being home, and seeing my parents with Ryan has been really amazing. My Mom always said that it's easy to love someone who loves your children, and that is so true. Even though we've had some rough times I can say that I am so proud of my parents and that I love them so much. I wouldn't trade being their daughter for anything. Unless Bill and Melinda Gates are looking to adopt for a tax write-off, and then I would consider it for a new computer and a Target gift card...but short of that..NOTHING!
No comments:
Post a Comment