Love Notes | Life and Times of the Reilly Household

I write this tonight (well, now it’s last night), but when you see it, it will be the morning, and I will have slept, which is a good thing.

This is one of those weeks where Hubs is traveling for work.  Tonight, he is hanging out on Lincoln Road in South Beach, probably smokin’ a cigar.  Maybe not.  Definitely a glass of scotch on the rocks.  Or two.  Tonight, he is “working.”  Widows of the traveling-spouse, you know what I mean.

So, I have the four kiddos to myself.  Get ‘em up, get ‘em fed, get ‘em ready for school, get ‘em out, then 8 hours later, get ‘em in, get ‘em fed, get that homework done, get ‘em showered, and GET THEM TO BED.  Bedtime for four kiddos takes approximately 2.25 hours.  I don’t know why.  But it does.  It is hard work.  It’s like herding cats and trying to play whack-a-mole all at the same time.  Tough work.  And I don’t mean “work.”

At the end of the night, when it’s been all mommy all the time and daddy has been away, those four kiddos sometimes (and here I mean ALL THE TIME) like to get on each other’s nerves, generally bug each other in whatever way possible, like to whine about how I pay too much attention to one or the other sibling, like to generally misbehave.  If you’ve met my kids, I know you may find this hard to believe, but it’s true.

I will just say that tonight was “one of those nights.”  Do you know those nights?  Right now I know there are at least two or three moms nodding along….  A glass of wine would be great tonight.  If I hadn’t given up alcohol for Lent.  Tonight I don’t drown my sorrows.  I endure and feel the emotions.  Darn.  And that perhaps should say “darn” with those air quotes, but you know what I mean.  Oh, woe is me.

So, I came downstairs after finally locking all the kids screaming in their rooms getting the children calmly asleep after nicely enjoying stories together while taking turns politely reading.  I’m exhausted.  I’m stretched mentally.  I just feel like I need a break.  I’m frustrated with my kids.  I’m frustrated that the kitchen is a mess, that the laundry isn’t done, that toys are spread everywhere throughout the house, that I just stepped on a chewed piece of gum (don’t worry Hubs, all on the hardwood, got the whole thing up no problem), that my photography work is sitting over THERE while I need to take care of these things HERE.  Just spent.  Do you know that feeling?

And this is what I found on the counter, next to my purse:

And my heart melted.

THIS.

THIS IS WHY I DO THIS.

Those words, that note, right there in front of me.

They love me.  THEY LOVE ME.

And I love them.

Dearly.

So, as my friend Tracey reminded me yesterday in her great post, find these moments and embrace them.  Let the music sing.

xo

A

PS.  I should add for accuracy that I’ve never met or spoken with Tracey.  We’re FB Friends (that’s FaceBook for all you out-of-touchers), and I stalk her blog.  Oh yeah, I follow her on Twitter too.  Now doesn’t that sound rather stalkerish?  And, oh yeah, I’m taking her online photography course starting next week.  So, yeah, we’re buds.  Like this || close.  Internet friends.  Well, just one step below internet friends.  Acquaintances?  No, we’ve never been acquainted.  Hmmm.  Oh heck.  I don’t know her.  But if I did, I bet she is super cool.

PPS.  Just so I don’t hear it later, I just want to say that hanging out on South Beach is not the norm for Hubs’ business travel.  He works very hard, travels alot, and tries to be home as much as possible, even if means some crazy flight arrangements or flying the red-eye after a long day of meetings.  Business travel and being away from family sucks.  Well, sometimes I’m sure it’s nice, like last night, but otherwise, it stinks.

Upon further investigation and questioning of my children as to which one actually wrote the note (I had my suspicions because one of them is always sweetly leaving me love notes), it turns out the note was actually written by my six year old neighbor who was here to play the day before.  She left the note “because she loves the Reillys and wanted them to think that a leprechaun wrote it).  Totally love her.  I have no doubt that I didn’t “see” this until I really needed it.   xo A