Home

With all the wild and crazy fun of Wednesday posted below, another great part of my week has gone uncelebrated:

Mom and Dad are home.

: )

I shout from the rooftop all the time, all about how I'm an Independent Woman, a Grown-Up, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. This is true, but the fact is, there is still a rubber-ducky clutching, Snoopy-toting little girl in me who sits on a bed in the ER wishing for her mom.

I love that my parents are spending their retirement going on grand adventures like this three-week cruise around Asia (starting in Beijing and ending in Singapore). I'm happy to babysit Bella and Duchess. And when things are quiet and calm, the time flies by and before I know it, everyone's home where they belong. This time was different--falling victim to bronchitis and the endless boredom of being stuck at home for days while I recovered made me long to see Mom and Dad again.

Fortunately, I had my super-fun wild and wonderful Wednesday adventure this week to keep me occupied, but still, when I pulled into Mom and Dad's driveway on Thursday, with four cats crying in the back seat and a weekend's worth of clothes and reading material, I was very, very excited.

As I pulled into their neighborhood, Dad called me to let me know they were on the ground, boarding the bus that would bring them back to Lincoln from San Francisco. I had two hours until they would need to be picked up, so I opened all the windows to a fabulous, sunny fall day, made some coffee and iced tea, and had a life-saving shower. I put the cat carriers away and puttered around the house until finally, finally, the phone rang again, with Dad telling me they were ten minutes out.

I hurriedly changed from pajamas (my clothing of choice when I'm home) to khakis and a nice shirt (in an annoying twist, my only pair of clean-ish jeans got peed on by Duchess when I put her in her carrier and were, by this time, hanging out to dry on Mom and Dad's clothesline) and hopped into Mom and Dad's van to drive to the clubhouse.

I waited a few minutes, bopping up and down in the driver's seat, impatiently waiting. Finally, the bus pulled into the parking lot and I walked over. Mom and Dad were among the first off. Hugging Mom was so lovely--they were tired and desperately craving their home, so off we went, talking the whole ride home and beyond.

It's been lovely to be here this weekend, hanging out, relaxing, getting a craft store fix with Mom. I will go back to Stockton on Tuesday, but for now, I'm enjoying some much-needed time at home.