They're All Gone

I typically write on the eve of my kids' long trip to MN. I guess since they weren't in MN all summer (you remember that fiasco), I was a littttttttttle ready for the long break. I realize that sounds like the worst thing a mother should say. But after the hectic (yet amazing) year that we've had, I was ready for the break from reality. The kids in MN, my husband in MT. It was the seemingly perfect setup for a stressed out, tired, and emotionally drained mom and wife.....Except that it wasn't. Less than an hour after I was home from dropping the kids off in Chicago, I sat down thinking that I would relax with a bottle of wine, a romcom from Redbox, and put the cleaning that I promised myself I would do while they were gone off until tomorrow. And then I got a text from our realtor saying that we had a showing the next day! Oh brother! So I put the wine away, paused the movie, and got to cleaning. Of course my house isn't terribly messy, but there were Christmas presents that needed homes in our already crowded house, kids' sheets to wash, and clean clothes from the laundry to put away. A few hours later, I was done. Ready to relax. Except that I didn't. It was almost 9:30pm and I took my lonely self upstairs and went to bed.
Every time the kids leave, I think of all these great plans I'll make. The friends I'll catch up with. The tasty restaurants I'll try out. I think of the cleaning I'll get done. The naps I'll take. But I never do any of those things, and then before I know it the kids are back and we're back to the chaotic day-to-day routines that are our lives! And I kinda love it.