The blog gods were smiling on me yesterday. Okay, I don't really believe in blog gods, but if I did, I would think they really like me. And then I would think they're nice, and I would picture them as butterflies with brilliant colors and cute pudgy caterpillar faces. Smiling.And apparently pretty hairy.
With REALLY big eyes.
Anyway, yesterday was a much better day. My supportive superhero of a husband arrived home from Detroit (or, DeToilet) in the morning and sent me off to a coffee shop to spend four hours returning your lovely emails, reading a lovely book and catching up on your lovely blog posts (still not caught up, stop writing such great stuff so I can catch up, sheesh).
Yes, true story. FOUR hours. I sat there by myself, plunking away at the keyboard and smiling a lot. With coffee. And some chili. I love me some chili. I felt a bit peaceful and totally and completely exhausted.
So anyway, I came home to this:
- Children taking a nap.
- My lovely Ryan sitting right there on the couch instead of in DeToilet. Wait...DeTROIT.
- A package from The Story of My World with the tastiest popcorn (from the big popper) you've ever tasted ever inside. I won it in a giveaway (na na nah boo boo). Thank you, Carrie! (Yes, Dad. I will share it with you.)
- A package from PsychMamma's giveaway with an EXCELLENT children's book inside called The Boy Who Grew Flowers, courtesy of Barefoot Books. Thank you, PsychMamma!
(Or maybe I should pay it forward and take part in the carnival and give something away? I don't know what to give away yet, I can't think straight (shocker) so we'll see. Give me suggestions, but don't try to steal my popcorn, my CD, or my book. That's not nice.)
Okay, back to the bullets of good things about yesterday,
- After the nap, Ryan took the boys to run some errands and I spent the afternoon at home, finally bringing myself to fold some laundry and wash some dishes. I didn't even hate it and it felt good to catch up a little.
- My dear friend Kate called to see if we could get together. I had dinner plans with rockin' Auntie Kay (who has her finger on the pulse of entertainment news and keeps me updated so I don't have to buy People magazine because that can get expensive). Kate was with our other dear friend Mackenzie so they met Auntie Kay and I for dinner. They got me laughing, kept me laughing, and eased the load I've been carrying around this week.
- I came home and that Ryan guy was STILL here. We talked a long while and he gave me fits of giggles as is his specialty. He's the best, he really is. Putting up with weepy old me.
- Ryan leaves again on Monday, but my parents will be here and that reassures me.
- I've been recognizing things that brought me to the funk I'm in and it helps me to realize it's probably pretty normal. Life has been a bit hard on me. And so have I. Funny how knowing the reasons, seeing them clearly and accepting them can start the healing process. They say "knowing is half the battle." I wonder why it takes us so long to know stuff.
Peace to you.
(photo courtesy of flickr: Jeri Le)
33 clicked right here to comment:
Heather, I'm so glad you had a good day; you deserved one. And your husband sounds like just the kind I wrote about in my post yesterday called "real-life romance." So happy you have that kind of support.
This is really dumb: This is such a happy post and I'm sitting here crying! Whatever.
I'm just so glad that you had some wonderful things happen (popcorn and husbands, what more could you want?!) to give you a break from the darkness. I really hope you have a good experience in getting through this "fire." You will, you know.
And I laughed about the butterfly. She does look a bit like furry alien butterfly.
Oh Heather,
I am soooo happy to hear you are doing better. I could tell you were smiling as you typed! Yeah for you!
Try not to scare us with the butterflies anymore...umm..okay?
I love finding goodies in my mailbox. So do my kids. Eveyday they want to know if we got any free stuff. Congrats.
I don't think I'll give anything away next week but I am wondering if anyone will have time to read regular posts with the giveaways sucking up all of their time (or at least they have mine in the past).
I'm glad to hear you got a little break yesterday... that makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it? I love it when daddy gets home. Even if he doesn't DO anything, I'm not 100% responsible anymore!
I'm so, so glad that you are feeling better. Knowing that someone else is going through some of the same things as me really makes a difference. I love honest blogs. Glad you had time to yourself yesterday.
Yay for Heather feeling better!
I totally agree with you Heather, thinking about the GOOD things, makes life WAY more bearable.
I find the more I dwell on the negative aspects of my life, the worse I feel, and in return, the less control I have over myself.
That sucks...
So I guess in Piper' words, "even if you trip and fall, you just have to get up and suck it up..."
Ahhhh, so wise beyond their years n'est pas?
Sounds like a delightful day!
I'm a little surprised that you didn't mention the David Hasselhoff baby. I'm sure that totally had something to do with it.
I'm glad you are feeling a bit better. I think I should refer to you as my brain twin b/c I feel EXACTLY the same way as you. I'm pretty sure I'm depressed and I cry for no reason a lot. I find comfort in knowing that we are not alone in this mothering battle. Its been a hard year on me, also. My (awesome) MIL came and took my boys for the day and I am going to put my feet up. Kudos to your transparency, it helps a ton!!!
I'm so glad you got some good alone time, and also some good husband time.
I'm incredibly spoiled to have a husband with a teaching job. I take that for granted way more than I should.
A lot of men up here do 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off on the slope. I think their wives are amazing in every sense of the word.
And you are too!
4 hours in a coffee shop with no children... I'm jealous, but that's ok - I'm very happy for you too, happy that you got a break, happy that hubby came home and gave you fits of giggles and happy for the ray of sunshine you got to experience!
Hi there!So glad to hear you're feeling better. In my opinion there's nothing worse than being ill with the responsibilty of being a parent.
With you on the 'knowing is half the battle' thing too. It always struck me with the serenity prayer:
(Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.)
That bit about knowing the difference is right at the end! I wonder how many other people out there are stressing about the stuff we're not even supposed to change? Hey-ho!Onwards and upwards!
I'm so glad you got some heather time. How perfectly refreshing! :)
Sounds like a wonderful day; I'm so glad for you. Four hours alone in a coffee shop does sound pretty close to heaven! :)
I am so glad you got some time to yourself. What a great husband you have! Keep your chin up. You are doing great things!
Okay, so I'm already starting to worry about the next time he is gone and your parents aren't there. Is there another mom you could switch off babysitting with? Or something? Or anything? I would take your darling boys in a split second but there's that there darn distance thing.
GOOD for you for taking 4 hours in a coffee shop! My hubby says, "Go to the coffee shop" and I CAN'T do it. I feel guilty or something stupid like that.
Next time he looks at me and takes pity on my and says "Go", I'm GOING.
Yayyyyyy for alone time and for good things happening! :)
I'm so glad that you're doing better:)
By the way I'm with Heidi, you need to have a break when he's gone, maybe hire a babysitter a couple times a week. I don't know how you do it all while Ryan's gone.
One more thing, Are you calling Detroit a poop bowl? It's not that bad. We've got our good points too. Next time Ryan's on business here you should come to and you can hang out with me and my crazy kiddos. I'll show you that Detroit's not all that bad:)
Did you ever hear the one about the professor that said how long do you think I can hold this 5 gallon bucket? He said if I hold it for 10 minutes, my arm will hurt. If I hold it for a few hours, I will need an ambulance. If I hold it for a week, I will drop it.
Some times you've gotta put the bucket down.
It's not that we don't love our children. Or our husbands. Or our homes. But they are what fill up our buckets. And the love they share, and the responsibility they demand, can make for one heavy bucket. When you give your arm (heart, brain) a break, picking it back up is easy again.
I'm so thankful you've got such a great family behind you! High five your guy from me.
Blessings, Whitney
Good for you for taking care of YOU first. You can't fill anyone from an empty vessel...fill yourself first. :)
Glad you're feeling better.
It is very brave of you to write about depression. It is something that is so prevalent, yet no one talks about it.
I'm so glad you got some time for yourself and hope that your day gave you what you needed.
OK, so I admit, i haven't responded to many of your posts lately. Just know that it's not cuz I'm not reading and loving them....it's just that you now have such an enormous following that I don't have time to read everyone else's comments first to ensure I'm not going write the exact same response. Even as I type, I'm freaking out that someone else has already commented in a similar way, leaving me looking all plagiaristic. Wow! I can't believe plagiaristic is actually a word and I spelled it right the first time!!! Anyway, so glad you had a good day......You deserved it!
I'm so glad you're having good things happen and it sounds like you are in better spirits. It can really be rough when your partner and best friend is away during dark moments so I'm glad he came home and brought you some much needed sunshine.
Yay for hubbies coming home! I am glad you had some time just for you.
I will be praying for you next week too!
Hey, that Ryan guy sounds like a keeper. Does he read your blog or is he really *that* intuitive?
(((hugs))) I'm SO glad you got some time to chill. It's good when you get a chance to take care of yourself. So very good.
Yes, yes, you are. YEAH for home hubbies and YEAH for four-hour me-time and YEAH for chili. I love chili, too.
Also, I'm from Detroit and - ahem - that is an apt nickname.
That sounds like a fabulous weekend. Here's hoping you get many more.
And congrats on the recognition. Sometimes that realization is all that we need. Hope things get all better soon.
My husband travels a lot for work too, and I absolutely know what you mean about it just being so much better when they are around. Like I can finally let out the breath I have been holding and truly relax for a second. I'm glad you got some "me" time! Sometimes it is really needed in order to go back to all the things we need to do and not absolutely hate everything.
Hi Heather,
I am so glad for these uplifting things and that you are able to rely on God working through loving family and friends during this tough time. Know that I'm praying for you and your family--that He will be faithful to bring your spirits up.
Hooray! Amazing what one really good day can do. Glad you've got a good guy who understands. . . . I know it's not the end of the battle, but God is good and drops us these signs that make us KNOW He's still there and help us keep going.
Perfect. This is just so perfect. Bless you, Ryan! And I love that you guys call DeTroit DeToilet! Awesome.
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