Patrick was home this past weekend for the first time in over a month. I had a small list of things I needed him to accomplish because I was physically incapable. The kids had a small list of fun things they wanted to do with Dad. And Patrick had his own small list of things to accomplish. Despite those small lists adding up to trying to squeeze a lot in to a small weekend, we managed to have a very relaxed family weekend. The kids wanted him to see a movie the three of us had seen and wanted to play WII with Dad and to go to the park. We balanced the chores and the fun things, even managing a quick grownup only escape for a moment of gambling. And while we had some chores, somehow it managed not to feel like the normal weekend running around doing errands thing. It was just nice to have time for just the four of us.

Patrick left very early Monday morning while the rest of us slept. The kids woke in good moods. When it came time to take Emily to school the heels dug in. In a big way. She didn’t want to go. She did everything she could to avoid putting on socks and shoes. Once she realized there was no way around it, so put them on, but refused to speak or even look at me until the hallways of her school. I should note, it takes 30 minutes to drive to her school. We hugged goodbye and I asked her one more time to tell me what was wrong. “I’m tired.” was the best I could get. I took a moment to tell her teacher about her mood. The teacher replied, “I guess she just wasn’t ready for the weekend to be over yet.” And it hit me, she was just acting out the very thing I was feeling. I wasn’t ready for it to be over either. I liked our little bubble.