Sunday 5/20: I made it through Stake Conference with 3 boys who apparently were so thirsty after the first 15 minutes that they were unable to sit up in their chairs and were about ready to die. Somehow, magically, they all perked up at the close of the meeting two hours later to sprint out to the car yelling in their not-Sunday voices. Magic, that closing prayer is sometimes...
When we arrived home we checked J's spot device. He was on the move toward the summit.
I tried to take a nap on the couch. S stomped in, saw me, and said, "Arrrgghh!! I hate it when you take a nap!!" O walked in a few minutes later, covered me with a blanket, and then proceeded to clean up the playroom and kitchen all by himself without my having to ask. That night when I put him to bed he gave me a tight hug and said, "I love you so so much, Mommy. Tomorrow if you need any help, just ask me and I'll do it for you." Sweetest kid on the planet.
After my nap we made our way to Lehi for a picnic/get-together with my awesome friend Kelly who was briefly in town. Yummy food and great company plus not having to make dinner made for a stellar night! We missed the eclipse because of the clouds though that didn't keep me from peeking at the sun once in a while.
Monday 5/21: Bad night for sleeping since I was up every other hour checking J's progress from the summit (at midnight) back to camp (around 5AM). Then I could rest easy during the day knowing he was in his tent asleep. I hosted another Shelf Reliance party, fed my kids breakfast for dinner, and ran 3 miles at a 4% grade on the treadmill. The thought that kept me going through that torture was, "If my husband can summit a 20,000' mountain in the freezing cold, I can run 3 freaking miles on the treadmill." And I did. But just barely.
Tuesday 5/22: Busy day of friends and visiting. Drove carpool, dropped off the garage sale leftovers at Savers and ReStore. Attended H's neighborhood preschool graduation where he again refused to have his picture taken. Silly boy. Visited with a number of truly inspirational and amazing women who I am lucky enough to call my friends. A wonderful friend brought us a yummy dinner. Came in crawling at the end of the day, but I made it!
Wednesday 5/23: Bad night for sleeping since I stayed up till 3AM watching the entire first season of "Downton Abbey" on Netflix. Not the wisest choice, but my first waste-of-time-gratuitous tv-watching since J left. Highly entertained to say the least. Watched J's spot travel to 11,000' and then on to the plane pickup site. Ran 4 miles with my buddy -- she's the best!
Thursday 5/24: Put together some thank you gifts for the many wonderful friends who helped me out while J was gone. S called after school and asked if his friends could come over to play. Of course I said yes! It was the first time he had friends over since Kindergarten! There's hope for my boy! So glad that today my house was that house. The one that I've wanted our house to be -- where all the friends congregate to play and hang out. We had S and his two friends, plus a few from up the street, O and the friends he walks home with on Thursday, H and his best buddy -- not to mention the ones during the day who came to play with H. Love it! I hope it can continue. Had a sitter/friend/fellow runner come tend the boys so I could go to Chorale, during which J called from Anchorage!
Friday 5/25: Cherry Hill Elementary Dance Festival -- hands down one of my most favorite events of the year. Who doesn't love watching little kids square dance, dance to "Kung Fu Fighting," or dress up in rags and make-up and perform to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"? So fun. The 5th grade did the dance to "Kung Fu Fighting," and it was awesome. Awesome.
Here is S with his two best friends:
After lunch our friend Sophie, H, and I headed to the high school to watch O's patriotic program. It was great! O has to be the cutest first grader at that school. His odd facial expressions were priceless to watch!
Again we had S's friends over before he and O went to swimming. Then home for dinner and prep for the sitter. I told the kids I had been taking care of them for four weeks and just needed a break to go out to dinner with friends. This was true-ish, since J is my friend and -- if you're going to get technical about the plural -- I am friends with myself. Up to the airport to see my mountain man:
and then to dinner with the bushy fellow:
Mountain man and squinty Asian wife!
Saturday 5/26: Saturday morning was awesome! H woke up and called for me, asking me to turn on the bathroom light. I told him it was on, that he should go use the bathroom, and then come in my room for a second. J was peeking out from under the covers, and H starts screaming, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Best reunion ever. Of course H's shrieks brought the other two in and joy and happiness abounded. While J made pancakes for the boys, I was able to sneak away for a quick 5-mile run after which we went to Chili's for lunch. We've discovered that J is like a baby. Every 3 hours he is starving and must be fed a full meal. After lunch we took the kids to Get Air Hang Time. Then home again for dinner (pizza) and a movie party (The Muppets) complete with caramel popcorn (yummy).
It's been a great month of May without J, full of schedules, school, swimming, and scouts. We are so glad to have him back with us, shaggy hair (though he did have it cut today (May 30)), frostbitten fingers, wind burnt cheeks and all. We've cleaned up and stored away his mountaineering gear with no thought of selling it, since the adventurer that J is couldn't bear to think that this would be his last expedition climb. For now, however, we are happy he's with us, and he's happy to be home.
3 comments:
Yay!!! He's home safely!
Sooooo glad he is home!! I love the mountain man look! Hahaha!
Hurrah! He (and you) made it!
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