Reflecting on a Summer at Home with my Daughters

It's true folks. The time has come for me to slap on a pair of pantyhose, a pair of heels and my flashiest smile and head back to the office. It sounds so cliche to say that time flies when you are having fun but it's just so true. It's amazing how long the days can be when we aren't doing what we truly want and how quickly the minutes pass when we are too busy to care what time it is. Each minute of the last fourteen weeks has been just this way for me. When many people hardly have the opportunity to take more than five days away from work, I was fortunate enough to spend three whole months away from the daily grind. I openly admit that I spent little time focusing on my life as a 9-5 professional and instead whole heartedly dedicated myself to being a 24/7 mommy. Here's a taste of the things I did during my whirlwind summer with my girls.
  • Becoming a night owl again;
  • Learning, after a few weeks, that I didn't need to change Charlotte's diaper every 2 hours during the night;
  • Learning that I could feed her laying down (why, oh why did I not do this the first time?) and feeling her body next to mine as we drifted off to sleep;
  • Feeling the sun on my face while playing motor boat in the lake with Caroline;
  • Making sand castles with our friends;
  • Watching Caroline become protective and motherly with her little sister;
  • Becoming the center of Caroline's life again and getting lots of hugs and kisses from her;
  • Singing songs with lyrics like, "My sister's got a pig on her head. She keeps it there all day";
  • Waving to Caroline as she rode the carousel by herself for the very first time;
  • Making silly faces to get Charlotte to giggle and squeal;
  • Listening to Caroline spill her juice and say with a perfectly Minnesotan accent, "Oh Crap! I spilled my juice!";
  • Hearing Caroline say Mr. Table Head (potato), zucchina and carsodo (tricycle);
  • Counting the rolls on Charlotte's legs and arms;
  • Teaching Caroline to pump her legs on the swing;
  • Getting dizzy playing Ring Around the Rosey;
  • Taking long walks and long naps;
  • Knowing we were going to do it all over again tomorrow.

Going back to work is cruelty to mothers. This morning, I packed several new framed photos of the girls, and my pump, and reluctantly left them behind. As I drove to work, I cried a bit but laughed more, thinking about all the silly and wonderful things I experienced with them this summer. Nothing is better than watching your children grow right before your eyes and wanting to tell everyone you see, "I love them! I love them! I LOVE MY KIDS!"

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