There's No Place Like Home

My 12-year-old daughter and I are back from her soccer team's trip to Regionals. I'm not sure who was happier to greet us at the airport: my husband or the twins. (My middle child didn't even notice we were gone, but then she's 10 years old and lost in her own world of Barbies and tree forts and sidewalk chalk.) My husband gave me a big hug before running off to his mancave to recover; he didn't come out of hiding for 2 days. He confessed that he refused to comb the twins' hair the entire time I was gone, as the wailing and gnashing of teeth was more than he could bear. He admitted that he didn't realize until I went missing for a week just how much I do around the house, and thanked me. THANKED me!

The twins have not let me out of their sight . . . turns out they love me! And they don't want me to ever go away again! Every morning, they climb into bed with me and snuggle up close to make sure I'm still here. Well, whattya know?

The good news is that I discovered I am needed. The bad news is that I discovered this:

My poor lilac. Check out the photo I snapped of the same bush a week before I left. Nothing horrible happened, other than a fortnight passed. The window of opportunity for lilacs to bloom in Alaska is exceedingly small.

Our summers are short, so no second round for the lilacs.

They are done for the season.

However, the wildflowers are picking up the slack. Daisies. Dogwoods. Dandelions. My favorites are all blooming like mad. Wait. Dandelions are NOT my favorite.

It's time to get back to work. There's laundry to be washed and meals to be cooked. I have lots of e-mails to answer and blogs to visit. And tangles to comb out of my 4-year-olds' hair.


Dinner last night: chili