I Can Not Wait...

Now that the tickets have been finalized and days are rushing by...I am giddy! I am so excited to go home!
When I think of my parent's home in the summertime... I think of nice air conditioned coldness(been without ac for too long), chicken salad, All My Children, the smell of sunscreen, bathing suits, lazy afternoon naps, sitting in the sun room, my dad teasing my mom, my mom cooking; and the best thing since I have grown older...the sound of my children laughing as they run in and out! This is what I am looking forward to most, just being home! Time to soak all of it in, remembering the little things that I have forgotten. Oh, how I will want time to stand still! I want my kids to have these memories, I want for them to yearn for family as much as I do!
When I was little I do not remember my grandparents being a part of my everyday life; they where always so far away, and when we saw them they never had very much to do with me when I was little. How lucky my children are that they have two sets of grandparents that love them dearly, and who want to be with them! To make memories with them.
Although this distance has killed me; the lesson it has taught me is...make the most of every minute with family! We have been so lucky to have both my parents and Pat's parents come and stay with us for a couple of weeks each! Now it is our turn to visit them! I hope to get the most out of every visit. My mom asks me what I want to do; I do not really want to do anything but hang out! I want to sit in their sun room and laugh, I want to eat home cooked meals and be stuffed, I want to watch my dad take my boys fishing, I want to go shopping with my mom to all of the best shops, I want to visit my friends, I want the kids to see their friends, I want to sit and laugh around the McKain's kitchen table ...I want to just be! I want to feel like I am at home, not just visiting! I want to go to Florida and eat up Disney World! I want to head to Tampa and see my kids get spoiled by another set of grandparents, I want to have the kids do crafts with Grandma Lou, I want them to go the aquarium, again I want to just be! I really look forward to Pat and I to sneaking away for coffee...and Mike to make fun of my fu fu coffee!
I can not wait, I can not wait to go home!