Sweet sleep

I'm tired. One would think that my nap on Saturday afternoon would've helped combat the tiredness I acquired to that point. However, I got a few phone calls during that hour I was hoping to rest peacefully while our niece and nephew were with their grandparents. So why didn't I catch up on sleep Saturday night? Because I was welcomed into the world of The Waltons with a DVD viewing of the episode titled "The Reunion." I'd never seen The Waltons before and I didn't realize that it was an hour-long show. By the time we got downstairs, I was already pooped. I didn't want to ruin the excitement of everyone else at the chance to witness my first Waltons episode, so I propped my eyelids open and made it through to the end of the show.

Sunday morning came quickly and the day was filled with people. These are people that I not only love because they're family, but that I also like and would even if they weren't family. But still, they are people. And a lot of people implies that at the end of the day, I will be tired. Exhausted. Empty. And tired I was. And am. And will be until, hopefully, tomorrow evening, when I get the chance to lay down in bed at 10:00 pm without the noise and commotion of children who aren't ready to go to sleep but want to jump around on our bed instead.

I will miss Maria, Andrew, and Laura Beth, who have been with us for the past 2 weeks. I will miss Laura Beth's hugs and Andrew's stories of what he saw and thought was funny during the day. I will miss the full refrigerator which will empty quickly after they leave and likely won't be replenished with great fervor.

Last year when the Coxes visited for just a week, I was also glad to return to a less frenetic and quieter life, but I really missed them when they were gone. They left early in the morning before I was out of bed and when I got up, I was sad that there was nobody who needed me to make breakfast for them. It was after that visit that I realized I was ready (if that's truly ever possible, but you know what I mean) to have children of our own. That was the beginning of the end of our quiet, peaceful life. We still have a couple of months left of peace and quiet, but we're sure to embrace it and appreciate it while we have it. And what better way to celebrate than sleeping.