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Liliana comes and wraps her arms around me on my free side. “Hi, Momma!”
I kiss her head as well before I greet them. “Hi, baby girls. Are you two having fun so far?” They both shake their heads. “Good, let’s get you two something to eat.”
Over the next two hours, I attend all three parties, making conversation with lots of tiny humans while fielding all their left-field questions and listening to the random confessions of creatures with no filters.
One time, I saw my mom without a shirt, and she had an earring on her boobie.Thank you for the info, little Bobby. That little tidbit of unrequested information sent me down a runaway train of thought.That can’t feel good, can it?
I snapped back to reality when another parent began to make polite small talk, but my mind was totally still on the boob earrings the entire time she was talking.
Thankfully, I avoided a conversation beyond pleasantries with Karen. My neurons are firing at a billion miles an hour today so one snide remark from her might push me off the deep end.
When school finally ends, I load my kids up in the van. They’ve got the cookie-and-juice jitters as they chat over each other and fumble with their seat buckles. I laugh at the evil realization that I’m sending my kids to Nana and Papa already flying on a sugar high.
How do you like them apples, grandparents?
“What’s so funny, Mom?” Jonathan asks as we pull out of the parking lot and make the drive to my parents’ house.
“Oh nothing, sweetie. Are you guys excited to spend time with Nana and Papa?”
“Yeah!” says Liliana. “Did you pack my butterfly jammies? I really wanted to show Nana.”
“I did, little love.”
“Good! Nana said we were going to have pizza tonight. I hope it has pineapples!”
I pull into my parent’s driveway and all the kids quickly unbuckle and run to the front door.
“Guys, aren’t you forgetting something? Come grab your bags from the trunk!” I holler after them.
Everyone carrying their own shitwas a milestone I looked forward to for years. After everyone could use the bathroom by themselves and carry their own shit, we leveled up as parents.
“Hello, darlings!” My mother greets us as she opens the door.
“Hi, Mom. Kiddos, Take your bags straight to your rooms,” I say.
The kids eagerly head back to their bedrooms. They got to pick the decorations themselves. The boys picked a robot theme and the girls’ room is covered in rainbows and unicorns.
My mother kisses me on the cheek when I step into the house. “So, what are you and Marco doing this evening?”
“We were going to go out to dinner or something low-key, but I’m wiped. We may order in and watch a movie or something instead.”
“Oh, no, don’t do that.” The pain in her voice startles me. “Go, go! You two need to go out and enjoy yourself. The kids are fine here. They won’t need you to stay close.”
“It’s not about that. I had a really long morning and then spent two hours with sixty little kids. I’m absolutely beat.”
“Oh honey, find the energy. You won’t regret it.”
The concern in her eyes throws me as well. I nod before saying, “Yeah, sure. I’ll try.”
“Good.” She smiles at me with relief.
The kids run back to the living room, and I kneel down and embrace them all at once before I tell them, “I love you guys so much and I’ll miss you. I hope you guys have so much fun. Tell Nana and Papa if you need anything and practice kindness with yourself and each other, okay?”
“Okay!” they all shout then run off to the backyard to play. It warms my heart to see how at home they truly are here.
“Tell Dad I said hello when he gets home from work,” I say as I head out the door.
“I will. And have fun tonight, Ellie. It’s important.”
