Things I miss when my husband is in Japan...

So, my hubby has been away on a business trip to Japan since last Friday night, and gets home tomorrow night. A little less than seven days is definitely not the worst trip ever, but it is still long enough to help me appreciate him even more. This is the third time he has gone in the past six months, and I still miss him just as much and am just as excited for him to come home. I will try to spare you the gushing and mushy-ness, but here are some of the little things I miss:

-I miss his and Lorelei's little time together every morning. Every morning, when my child starts squawking (or screaming) through the monitor, sometimes I treat it like an alarm clock and hit the snooze turn it off, roll over, and beg for five more minutes (mama likes her sleep). Not my proudest moment, but I honestly am not even thinking. Allen then gets up, gets her out of bed, and fixes them a bowl of cereal. If I were to come out of the room at this point, I would find two sleepy-eyed buddies in their jammies and bed head eating cereal and watching cartoons (like Pink Panther and Jimmy Newtron, not Blues Clues or Wonderpets, or any of the other things I put on for her). They spend a good 20 minutes together while I rest and marvel at how blessed I am (well, that part normally comes when I am more awake). Then, once Allen needs to get ready for work, Lorelei stays glued to his leg until he is out the door. And let me tell you, if I try to take Miss Lorelei away from her daddy before he leaves for work, it is like removing a limb.

-I miss the convenience of being in the same time zone (or in a time zone closer than 14 hours apart), and knowing that I could pick up the phone at any time and reach him. It is nice to not have to file things in my head for our 15 minutes of conversation a day.

-On the same note, I miss how when we are together, there is not really the need to intentionally SAY so much to communicate how our days were. I can just be with him and conversationally talk about random things (or nothing) as it flows. When we are in front of Skype (God bless Skype by the way), I feel like I need to think of all these interesting topics and things to mention, and my mind draws a blank. It is normally OK because I am spending our whole Skype time trying to keep Lorelei from encrypting my computer.

-I like my cat as much as the next person, but I miss sharing my bed with the hubby. It is just so nice going to sleep and waking up next to someone.

-And on THAT note, I miss the fact that Allen normally is the one who feeds that cat and cleans out the litterbox. Poor Hailey.

-I just miss his presence. His smile, his hugs, his voice, his smell...I know I am in love with my husband, but it is amazing how much about a person one can take for granted until they are thousands of miles away.

Only 26 more hours!

And speaking of gardens, we go to this place a lot...

For Mother's day, my dear husband bought me a membership to Longwood Gardens. I have been going to this place since I was young, and to be honest, at first it did not thrill me too much. I mean, I like pretty flowers as much as the next person, but there is only so long I can look at them before I get a bit bored. I preferred to go to Longwood for their outdoor theatre or because it is a pretty romantic spot for dates. When he mentioned getting me a membership, I did not know what to think at first. Would I use it? Would I like it? Would we get our money's worth?



The answer is yes, to all the above. My perspective on this place totally changed with a child in tow. It is so perfect! Sick of walking around my local park? I just hop in the car and drive 30 minutes to the most gorgeous place for miles. There are special designated kids gardens which I never really paid attention to before, tons of places to have a picnic lunch, (clean) bathrooms all over, and discounts on lots of fun activities and concerts. I also found out that not only I have a membership now, but a great many of my friends who like to bring their littles. Apparently this is the cool place to go and I was the last to really get it!

We went on a family outing the day before mother's day, and I have since taken her twice with friends. She loves to walk down the paths, to try to swim with look at and feed the catfish, and especially to play in the fountains. I am so excited to have this special place to go all year, and am so thankful to my wonderful husband for knowing before I did how much I would love this gift!

Here are some pictures from our first trip:















(it is the perfect place to bring a fancy camera!)

Come, sweet day

Come to my garden nestled in the hills
There I'll keep you safe beside me


Come to my garden, rest there in my arms
There I'll see you safely grown and on your way


Stay there in the garden
Where love grows free and wild


Come to my garden
Come, sweet child


Lift me up and lead me to the garden where life begins anew
Where I'll find you, and I'll find you love me too


Come to my garden
Rest there in my arms
There I'll see you safely grown
And on your way


I shall see you in my garden
Where spring will come and stay
Come to my garden
Come, sweet day


photos taken at Meme and Poppop's house on 5/5/2011, song: "Come to my Garden/Lift Me Up" from The Secret Garden by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman.

Motherhood

This is my second mother's day



Last year, I definitely felt like a "real mother." Lorelei was two months old and we went through our share of struggles. But it was still very new to me, and I felt like a "newbie" in a special club. Now, I am not saying with a 14 month old I am this expert now. By no means! In fact, every day I am more aware of how selfish and inexperienced I am. God's grace is so beautiful and so applicable to motherhood. Nothing I do wrong could make Him see anything but Jesus when He looks at me. I am that covered by His grace. And likewise, no matter how much I screw up, no matter how sub par I am at this mothering thing, Lorelei still looks at me with adoring eyes, clings to my leg, and cries out "Mama! Mama! Mama!" with a grin on her face. I know that someday, far too soon, she will look at me with a critical eye and be embarassed by things I say or how I dress, but for now, I love being her best friend.





And likewise, being a mother helps me to look at my own mother with new eyes. I don't remember any times I was angry for getting in trouble when I was little, or any of the silly things that I got annoyed at when I was a teenager, but I remember that my mother was always present, always there for me, and always giving of herself. I hope and pray that I can be so selfless with my time and talents as Lorelei grows, and that she always remembers me being there. And now, as a new facet of motherhood was bestowed on her as a grandmother, she is even more beautiful. I love how she acts like a total nut for my kid, and Lorelei adores her for it. Whenever my mom comes to see Lorelei, even if she just saw her the day before, my mom gives her the most excited greeting ever, and Lorelei lights up like the sun. We kicked off mother's day with a bang this year by trekking to the Flower Market, observing a tradition that I used to have when I was small. My mom pushed her around in the stroller, sat with her knees up to her ears in a pint-sized car ride, and bought us ice cream cones and petting zoo tickets. My mom, my daughter, and me- a complete circle, loving life.





And I couldn't write a mother's day post without honoring my incredible mother-in-law as well. Even before there was a ring on my finger, my husband's mother made me feel like a daughter. She has always been one of the most welcoming and serving people I have ever met, and always made me feel like I was one of the family. I know many other non-blood-related people who feel the same way. Her house is truly like another home to me, and I love that I can just go there with Lorelei to enjoy her delicious food, company, and gorgeous yard. I love watching her love Lorelei so much, and love how observant she is to Lorelei's needs. Not to mention the fact that my husband is the sweetest, most hard-working, most respectful person in the world is a great testimony to what an incredible mother he has. I know he learned so much who what makes him the wonderful man that I love from her. I am so so thankful that I married into a family where I can share her.




(Lorelei loving Meme's flowers)
It has been a long year since the first mother's day, and I feel like God has grown me so much. I have seen temper tantrums and first steps. I have endured a choking scare and an ER visit. I have heard real words uttered from her lips and still thrive on the sounds of her giggles. I went through times where I had to defend my wishes for her, even if it made me look like a control-freak, and times where I had to kick back and acknowledge that my kid is going to eat dirt or paper or poop and still be OK. I have want to watch her learn things like how to swim, how to dance, how to bake bread, how to color in the lines. How to read books. How to take pictures. How to bless others. How to love Jesus.



Oh, what a wonderful calling this is.