Normal Life??

I am in the Phoenix airport.  Fortunately, not still, but again.  I arrived here from Heathrow less than 36 hours ago, now I am back, this time with my four boys.  We are on our way to a family wedding in Steamboat, Colorado.  The boys are looking forward to wearing their new suits, seeing second-cousins who babysat them 10 years ago, and dancing all night long (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree).

The past 36 hours have been intense--sleeping for the first time in 24 hours after my trans-atlantic flight, getting school supplies for Grant and Ari, who have their first day on Monday (the day we roll back into town), paying bills, changing furnace filters, dropping gifts off for friends, haircuts....normal life.  I told my flatmates that most days I don't sit down all day long--and that is true (except for in the car when I am chauffeuring from school to marital arts, to play practice, to mandolin lessons...).  I didn't sit down much in London (except to do classwork on the computer) but that is the only similarity my life in Prescott has in common with the three weeks I spent  London.

I hadn't left my kids over night for the first 10 years of Grant's life.  I was with them 24/7 for years--I remember being at the dentist's office when I had 3 babies under the age of 5 and thinking, "This is the first time I have been alone for months."  Getting my teeth cleaned was bliss.  Contrast that with London in July--I got a bed to myself, I got to wake up and go to bed whenever I wanted, I could go to the Pub, eat Indian food, dance all night, walk for miles...I got to do my own thing on my own schedule.  Sure, I had flatmates and class deadlines, but their pull on me was pretty small compared the to pull of four boys who want fed three times a day and expect clean clothes and entertainment daily.

I loved my crew in London, we had unbelievably good times--they schooled me on things that I missed out on, since I skipped over the single scene and went straight to married at age 21 and have been immersed in kid life for the past 13 years.  I learned new slang, had my mind blown by song lyrics, and now have a list of ten movies I must watch to be hip.  We are already making plans to meet up at the ALA conference in Las Vegas next summer.  They will be glad to see me, but they won't be jumping up and down and yelling, "Mama, Mama, Mama! I missed you, did you bring us presents?  Do you like my haircut?  What was your favorite thing you ate in England?  Can we move to Dublin?  Do English men really always wear dress shoes?  Which dress shoes should I take to London? When can we open presents?"  All within the first 20 seconds I see them...

My boys really missed me--I was busy and having new experiences and filling my days with London, Paris, and Ireland.  They were at home together, watching movies, playing with friends, and waiting for me to get home.  The reception I got melted my heart, made me proud of them and redouble my resolve to take them with me on the next trip.  I may not get to do whatever I want when I want, but it will be richer when I see new things through their eyes filled with wonder.  And when I do sit down, the four seats next to me will be filled with my boys.