Like coming home

There is something about a place that just feels welcoming and inviting that makes you feel like you're home. For me, at this point, it is my in-laws house. Just coming into town, seeing the familiar shops and streets and finally their home makes me feel safe, comfortable and welcome in a way that nowhere else seems to do right now.

Needless to say, it was nice to get "home" last night. H remembered where every toy was hidden and every fun thing to do was stashed, and he too immediately made himself at home, breaking out most of the toys as well as the playdoh and paints (within a very short period of time). K took a few more minutes to get into the mix, but trust me when I say she remembers this place on some level as well, even though she was barely past one year when we visited last and is coming up on two before I can blink.

We're heading to the beaches of New Hampshire today, and I am really looking forward to the possibility of a little R&R in the midst of this exhausting journey. With sixty-some days to go 'til my due date, the long days of driving and running around are starting to catch up with me, I fear. Of course I hate to admit exhaustion, but the slowness of my body and quickness of my temper are both testaments to my quickly fading energy each day.

Both kiddos have been clamouring to get home lately ("Mom, I wanna go home," when asked what they want to do that day, although H sometimes alternates that with, "go to the zoo and see animals") and I can't say that I really blame them. We will spend the next few nights at the beach with family as we have done each year since they have been born, including when H was only a month old. Following that, we'll spend a few days here at the in-laws, then travel home to Mississippi.

I really hope that a few days at home will give us a chance to settle in and get back to normal, or as normal as we can without daddy around. (Of course, said routine will last only as long as baby-to-be stays put, then we have to find a new normal. Ah, the joys of military wife-hood.