A Love Story and a Tag

This morning Ian got dressed and headed out for a bike ride. The house had just settled from the dust of his getting dressed and slamming out the door when he re-entered, appearing disgruntled. His face was twisted in a scowl as he marched to his room to get a coat. “It’s supposed to be warm today!”, he declares to no one in particular.
I had to laugh at his demeanor. It was like my five year old had morphed into a little old man who kept up with the weather and news.
So, off he goes on his bike ride and I start to do whatever it is I do that keeps me busy all day long. I had only just started doing whatever that is when Ian comes charging back inside, his bike helmet firmly in place on top of the hood of his Bob the Builder coat. Wasting no time he presents Mackenzie with a flower he has found outside. He comes to me and says, “Brothers love their sisters so much that they have to give them roses. The next rose is for you, Mom, but this one has to be for Kenzie, because I love her.”

One of the more gratifying side effects of Ian and Mackenzie growing up with me at home is their genuine love and passion for each other. They are their own playmates and they have grown to depend on and seek out the other’s presence. If the world works out the way it should in the ideal I will be outlived by my children, and it gives me great comfort to know that they are comrades.
I hope to always appreciate the fine gift Eric has given them and me by making certain our kids are raised with me at home. I know that being the sole wage earner has given him a heavy burden and the sacrifices are big. I think that a lot of the benefits of me staying home will not be seen for some time, but I get almost daily reassurances that it is all worth it. Today was one such day.

And now, the Tag.

I freely admit to getting a little tag happy with the last meme. I actually followed orders and tagged some of you. My cousin Gina has decided to turn this into a battle not unlike our fight at twelve about the professional merits of MC Hammer’s pants. That’s fine. I can roll with the re-tagging. Only this time I won’t be tagging anyone else, and I won’t be reposting the meme, I mean, really, you won’t sprain your eyeball to see it right below.

This time around, I think I will bore you with 5 places I would like to see.

1. I would love to travel to the various places of historical significance to my family. Places where ancestors settled and the like.

2. I want to go check out Kevin and Tonya’s new house and see how my little niece or nephew is doing.

3. It’d be a hoot to go to Eric and Kylie’s place to hug on Nater and get a little bit of crazy Auntie Amy germs on him.

4. When the day comes that it is possible, I want to fly to the moon. I just hope they lift the ban on airline peanuts by then. I mean, really, don’t the people who have peanut allergies know that they have peanut allergies? There is no FFA regulation that requires passengers to eat whatever is handed to them. Just don’t eat the peanuts. It’s as easy as that.

5. I have seen Disney World without kids, and it was lovely. As much as I know it would be a stressful, not so relaxing trip, I think it would be neat to bring the kids along next time. (Before you start booing me, Ian was still in diapers and Kenzie wasn’t much older than that when we last went. They still thought Target was a magical place, they didn’t need Disney.)