I blew in this morning in a gale. My flight was delayed, the wind and rain were ferocious, and I felt like I was wet through by the time I got unloaded. After a week in baby-land, it’s back to reality, work, and home…home being Rob, not a geographic location.
I talked to Stephanie tonight, and heard the sounds of two-week-old baby Jack sleeping near the phone…the little sighs and noises…I could feel his tiny body stretch and wiggle, just like I have for the past week. I miss him already. I miss his newborn softness, his fresh-from-heaven look. I miss his scent.
But the reality is, I’m not cut out to do the solo act. I had a divided heart last week…part of me glad to be with this new little being, and part of me sad to have left Rob behind working (work camp, we call it). Clinics do not shut down because a new baby arrives.
We’ll be down again the end of this month, and I’m looking forward to that. I’m really looking forward to that. We’ll go together, and we’ll experience together. And because we’ll be together, even though we’ll be far from our address in SE Alaska, I’ll be home. Home is where the heart is, and I’ll admit, pieces of mine are somewhat scattered through time zones and states. But the biggest piece of it is with Rob. Just as it should be. It is good to be home.
Yes, indeed. Home is where our love is. Understandable that yours is spread over several geographic locations, but centers on your hubby!
Ah, I know you understand! You and Motor Man seem to be inseparable…and that’s a good thing! Rob and I are rarely apart these days…maybe that’s why it seemed harder to spend the week without him. Certainly had nothing to do with my surroundings or family…but there was an empty spot for sure!
~ Sheila
Oh, so true…as much as I love going and doing …I love coming home to my base…and that’s my Bobby…Love the picture of Baby Jack…so cuddly and their smell is so sweet…Glad you got to spend time with them…but, I also know “there’s no place like home”…wherever that may be!
Thanks Marilyn! Yes, home is a wonderful thing…but I admit, I’m having a little withdrawal experience after a week with a newborn! Miss that little guy! ~ Sheila
The divided heart thing is hard work…I know all too well what you mean there.
In the words of the infamous Dorothy, “there’s no place like home!” (wherever that might be).
Awesome you get to go again the end of the month and not have to wait *months!
Happy New Year to you all.
~d.
Thank you, Dianna! Happy New Year to you too! I’m looking forward to more beautiful photos of northern MI and your life. Always a pleasure! ~ Sheila
I went back over your past posts, Sheila – first congratulations on becoming even more of a Grandma. The two quotes you posted? Did they ever grab me. I kept “close” to a friend whose only daughter (23 yr old) was killed in a car accident in Seattle. Though this was the third Christmas without ‘her girl’, it was the first time my friend was true to herself and stayed away from all the chaos and dread that would not serve or soothe.
Then just today, she received the vital stats of the woman in Iowa who received her daughter’s heart – which is the go-ahead to make contact.
She’s gently and soulfully putting together the words she wants to say to this recipient, in this time of great fragility, in starting a relationship with the woman who carries a living piece of her daughter. So hard. So scary. So in need of connection.
Thank you for sharing this about your friend. I hope that she will find peace and comfort as she connects with the recipient of her and her daughter’s great gift. What a challenge it would be to meet the person who received your child’s heart!
I’m glad you liked the quotes. They express my feelings perfectly! Parenting…maybe particularly mothering…is really a lifelong commitment…I find that in some ways it is easier with “children” now in their 20s…certainly I don’t have the hands on work that I once had. But they still tug at my heart strings quite often! ~ Sheila