Should I be worried? Or just happy...

Upon returning from Project Rejeuvenate Mom (84 hours of child-free bliss...but who was counting?) things are (surprisingly) fairly identical to the state in which I left them. The laundry stayed put away, the bathrooms stayed cleaned, and the dishes even stayed done. I promise, this is not a sly and pompous showing of my housekeeping efforts. The fact is, it seems the laundry and cleaning only get done when a trip is imment. On the flip side, The computer and monitor boxes which failed to make it to the garage before I left still sit in the kitchen hallway (and I guess I'm still working on that mental telepathy with Kyle. Shouldn't he be able to read my mind by now?) and suitcases from our weekend trip to Idaho/Utah taken 3 weeks ago still sit in the living room also awaiting proper placement into the garage. Yes, things are pretty much the same as I left them.

Except that they arent.

Savannah is officially weaned from her bed time addiction to the pacifier and Cade doesn't want me to walk him to his classroom at pre-school anymore. Kyle was adamant that Savannah's hair be in a ponytail today because she looks oh-so-cute in one and before I could shed light on maintaining marital bliss to my husband from my Good Housekeeping magazine he interrupted me and said, "oh yeah, I already read that article. It's a good one."

What?

Can children (and husbands) really grow up in a matter of days? I guess so. But for some reason this is all so unsettling to me.

Perhaps I am feeling a little un-needed. Or maybe I just feel sheepish for trying so hard at things that really aren't so hard to achieve. I seem to be expending my energy in all the wrong places. And the things that have taken me a lifetime to work towards that I am STILL working towards are so easily done without me around.

Like the fact that sacrament meeting starts at 1pm and Kyle, who was on his own, had both kids sitting in the pew at 12:45. I've never done that before in my life. And, not to mention that my kids were angels on the pew the ENTIRE time. What is up with that?!

Should I be worried? Or should I be celebrating?

I'm feeling quite celebratory over the pacifier graduation but I really don't like that my son doesn't want me to walk him to his classroom. Okay, and that he LOVES dragging Kyle into his classroom so he can meet his friends. That really bugs me.

Have I officially graduated myself? To that of the Un-Cool, I-Don't-Want-To-Be-Seen-With-You parent? I suppose it was going to happen eventually, but I just didn't expect Cade to de-mote me so soon.

And while I am on the subject of things that bug me, I also really don't like that he's the only kid in his classroom whose letter Q and S handwriting worksheets are not posted on the "great job" wall. Fortunately he can live in ignorant bliss because he doesn't know. But I do, and I am bothered because Eric's q's and r's are in no way better than the ones Cade did. Eric's are on the wall. Cade's are not. Total injustice going on here. It's an outrage!

A few things have changed, yes, and there is a glimmer of hope for me when Kyle leaves Friday for a "necessary" fishing trip that I can earn a spot back on the Cool Parent Bus when my children will need me again for not only food and mandated bed times, but more importantly-- fun.

In the mean time, I'll let Kyle share all his wisdom from last month's subscription on blissful marriages and healthy dinner recipes and joyfully watch Savannah's protruding two front teeth slowly inch themselves back inside her mouth when she grins now that she is binky free.

We just gotta work on our Qs and Rs....