My son and his family have gone back to Phoenix on a plane this evening. It was a great visit. We went to Norcross for their July 3rd fireworks. It was hotter than the 4th of July (because it was the 3rd, perhaps). The humidity was difficult for my son and his family to endure. They enjoyed the rain, for the most part, except when it kept cancelling things. They felt our pain here in GA. My granddaughter really wanted to just dance in the rain but you get cold when you’re wet, and sometimes we were out with no way to dry off. Not to mention that, while she was here, they took her to an express care place and found she had an ear infection.

We saw a Braves game, which the grandkids enjoyed. They are now experts in doing the tomahawk motion when that Indian chant is hummed. It’s pretty cute and funny, too, to see them do it. Kids really take their duty seriously.

Yesterday, the family took off, just the four of them, in my van for the day, for a mini-family vacation. They went to Stone Mountain but ended up at the mall….because the rain cancelled much of it. They got RAIN checks so their cousins can go for free sometime. Today, they joined their cousins at Lifetime Fitness….and ended up having to go inside because of thunder.

They left at 3, taking an Uber ride with my friend, Ed.  The first thing I did was take a nap! As each day came and went, I found myself more and more exhausted, burning the candle at both ends. I think we all felt it. Last night, I read the kids three stories. I couldn’t stop yawning! After they were in bed, I finally got a half hour to laugh and visit with my son uninterupted by duties and kids. Those are such rare times, and they are favorite for me. After they have a family of their own, time with their parents is very hard to get.

Now, the house is once again quiet and orderly. The dishes are in the dishwasher. The sheets and blankets are getting washed up. My life is resetting to routine. As I think over the past week, I think I’m just getting too old for this hosting of a young family. The noise level, the disorder, the meal planning and event planning really stretched me. It used to be a bit better when I had a live in partner who could help with the big and small tasks: grocery runs, setting the table, taking out the trash frequently, keeping an eye on the youngest who adores my small puppy, wiping up puppy pee because of her excitement every time we’d return home, making sure that she was shut out of the bathroom so she wouldn’t use the rug as a pee pad, trying to make sure that the puppy didn’t slip out or get stepped on by the feet of happy, excited little children running, entertaining the family while they’re in the house….and out….  Each day, I missed a little more sleep….and patience!

Tonight, it’s just Bijoux and I. She will miss our company. She loved them! I will miss them, too, but, tonight, we are simply content to rest and recuperate. Observing my son and his wife, I am reminded of why God gives children to the young. I get to rest after their visit, but they just take their ‘show’ on the road! I know that they will be more comfortable in their home base, not living out of a suitcase, but I hope that I gave them some time away from their usual routines and created memories that will live in their hearts for a long, long time to come.

And, now, Bijoux and I, like two elderly white haired ladies, will hobble off to bed, me with my scoliosis and her with her congenital dislocated shoulder, dreaming of when we were put to the test…..and passed.