Mother So Tender And Kind And True

Hopefully you've all noticed Holliann when she makes a comment on my blog. Holliann's husband, Reggie, and Brian went through the same program in college. The four of us went boating and out to eat once in a while. No kids. Footloose and fancy free. When our husbands graduated from college and went to work in different places, we didn't get together as much. Through the miracle of the blogging world, we have started to get to know each other again. On Saturday, Brian, Bridget and I went to Holliann & Reggie's for dinner. They have four boys, ages five and under.

All I know of the boys is what I've read on Holliann's blog. I thought Bridget was going to be freaked out by their energy. Instead, Jaxon talked very softly to her and invited her to jump on the tramp. Krew (right?) asked her if she likes Transformers. Talan held her hand during Ring Around the Rosies on the trampoline (check out his well-worn heels). And Jaeger (one year old) showed her how to climb the ladder to the slide and go down head first. They weren't loud. They watched out for her and let her play with all of their toys.

It took the grown-ups longer to sit down and eat and our conversations were interrupted often, but Brian and I enjoyed every minute of it. Parenting has made different people of Reggie and Holliann and Brian and me. We never go boating and rarely go out to eat. And somehow it's more fun now than it was then. It's as though we're finally the people we're supposed to be. I should have been taking notes as I watched Holliann & Reggie handle their life with so much energy, good humor, and love.

Combine Saturday evening with reading this beautifully worded post from The Pioneer Woman (she reminded me what a pleasure it is to see Brian as a dad - that's another post, though) and that equals me having love feelings about being a mother the last few days. I don't regret the ten years it took to get Bridget. It took long enough that I can still remember vividly what it felt like to sit at my desk (in a job I really liked and working with people I love still) and know that the job wasn't "it." Now I find myself cleaning poop off a bathroom rug with half of my make-up on, looking down into the most beautiful face on earth and having her say, "Lipstick? You look beautiful!" Who knew, but this is "it."