When I finally fell asleep last night, I could have really used a hug. Do you ever have that longing just to be held, to be embraced and told that everything is going to be okay? Since I’d pretty much made ever single person in my house mad at me yesterday, that just didn’t happen last night. So, I curled up in a ball on my side of the bed, shed a few tears, felt sorry for myself for a little while, and then fell fast asleep.
About 3:30 a.m., I heard a little voice at the foot of my bed. “Mama? I had a bad dream. Can I snuggle with you?” And while I was certainly not happy that she had a bad dream, I was thrilled to be able to cuddle her little six year old self for a little while. I guess that is the true wonder of motherhood and marriage and friendship. More often than not, you get a second chance to make up for the mistakes you’ve made. I am so thankful for second chances.
Today was a much better day. The girls took in their Third Day of Christmas treats for their teachers. This was Gracie’s favorite day of the whole group. She dissolves into giggles every time she says “It could be tempting to use them on my lips.” I love third grad humor!
Work went smoothly and I took a few hours off to go on a field trip with Abigail’s class. This was a second chance for me, too! In fact, I feel like Abigail’s whole kindergarten year is a second chance for me. Gracie’s kindergarten year was a really difficult one for me. My dad got sick the first week of October that year and was in the hospital constantly until he died at the end of December. The week after he died, my mom was admitted to the ICU at her local hospital with pneumonia. She was very very sick for a long time. Then, my we travelled to Louisiana for my Dad’s memorial service. I just felt like I never I got on even keel that entire year. Gracie did well in kindergarten, due in no small part to her amazing teacher. But, I always wish that it hadn’t been such a tumultuous first year of school for her. And, I always wish that I could have been more involved with her class. I’m so glad I have the opportunity to help more now, with Abigail’s class.
The field trip today was to deliver toys that the girls’ school collected to the children at Sacred Heart Hospital. I will be honest – there were moments when I had to choke back tears, watching my baby return to the hospital where she was born. I am so thankful to the amazing staff that did so much to save Abigail’s life that crazy day when she was born and I’m thankful to all the people in the NICU who took care of her after her birth. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to have a child in the hospital during the holidays. I hope that the presents the children delivered helped, even just a little bit.
The school student council members came on the field trip with the kindergarten class. Each kindergartner was assigned a fourth or fifth grader who looked out for them. Abigail had two! (Probably because it takes more than one person to keep her in line!) Abigail was so cute with them – she knew them both from church. You could just see the hero worship in her eyes! They were so sweet with her, too. It was a wonderful experience – I’m so glad I got to go!
We just spent the rest of the day doing our normal after school Tuesday activities: piano lessons, homework, dinner, reading. Definitely an improvement over yesterday! If we can ever find time to decorate the tree, I think it will really start to feel like Christmas around here!