Day 258 or A Wonderful Welcome Home

First, I want to thank all of you who stopped by to wish me a good trip or a welcome return. As per usual, my bloggy friends have made me feel like a rock star! While more stories and pictures are to follow, tonight I want to share my reunion with my children.

I'll be honest. As wonderful as the cruise was, and it was pretty darn wonderful, I missed my husband and kids like crazy! By Monday, I was crazy to see them. And when I finally met up with the old kiddos, it made the time away worthwhile.

My daughter jumped into my arms. As she hugged the breath out of me, I said "I missed you". She leaned back, looked into my eyes and said, "I missed you, too, Mommy" and if possible, squeezed me tighter. Her little voice actually sounded more mature than when I last heard it. And it was so sincere. I started to cry. When I told her that she made me cry, she reacted strongly with "No, I didn't!". I then explained that there was something known as happy tears (a foreign concept to her), she hugged me yet again and told me that she loved me. It was one of those moments wherein, you will yourself to suck every drop out of the moment. To be a sponge absorbing every sound, every nuance.

My son, however, played things a little cooler. When I arrived, he gave me a quick hug and a perfunctory thank you when presented with his pirate's booty of gifts from the ship and Cozumel. Later that evening, however, he climbed me much like a koala on a eucalyptus tree telling me that he missed me very, Very, VERY much. His passion was stunning and a dream come true as a Mommy.

So why am I sharing the end of the trip first? Because it taught me an incredible lesson.

There is an old saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder but often I think as moms, we're so worried about missing anything with our kids or not "being there" for any little need our children might have that we don't give them a chance to miss us. Well, my kids missed me. I left them for almost five days and the world did not crash around them. They survived without me. But they sure came to realize that Mommy does a lot of things. (P.S. I think my husband learned the same thing. But don't tell him that I know that he knows.)

So whether it's a cruise or a cup of coffee by yourself, give your family a chance to miss you. It may be hard -- you'll probably miss them, as well (probably!) -- but the payoff is huge!