Home Sweet Home

This past week I spent 3 days at Orange Beach with 30 of my closest friends. No kids, no hubbies,no worries, just sand and sun and an endless lazy river. I had been looking forward to the trip for many months. The last few months have been stressful for me. My dad has been in and out of the hospital and it just seemed like there was one thing happening after another. So a getaway was exactly what I needed. As much as I really wanted to go, I'm always apprehensive about leaving my family. I am, by nature, a worry-wart. I have a very hard time relaxing and have issues giving up my control of the kids. I always know that they are well taken of, but it's a constant nagging feeling. I knew I needed this, so I packed them up and sent them off to various places for a night until their Daddy could pick them up the next night. I was really good the first couple of days. I didn't even really call a whole lot to check on them. I enjoyed laying by the pool, eating dinner with my friends, floating down the lazy river, and listening to the waves crash all around me. My husband was wonderful and only called to ask one thing. "How does Alyse eat a corndog?" See, he knows my fear of choking so he just wanted to make sure. It made me laugh that of all things, that was the question! On the last night there, I started to get antsy. It was a good thing a friend was riding back with me or I would have packed up at 11:00 and driven home! Bright and early Saturday morning, I headed home. The closer I got, the more restless I got (not to mention as I turned into my neighborhood Daughtry's "I'm Coming Home" was playing on the radio!). When I pulled into the driveway, I literally jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. The door was open so I could see through the glass door to the living room. Here was the scene: sweet hubby laying on the couch, sweet boy lounging in the recliner, coloring and watching tv, and sweet baby girl laying on the floor on her stomach, coloring like a big girl. When I walked in, I heard "Momma's home!!" I hugged my babies tight and tears streamed down my face. Now, I know that I was only gone 3 days, and that some people may think that I'm crazy, but this life that I've built, with this man and these children is the most important thing to me. I am so very, very blessed and I want to never, ever take them for granted. I really believe that absence does make the heart grow fonder....if it's the truest desire of your heart:)