Ahhh......Love

I love my husband, I really do. There are so many reasons why, but that is a whole other blog post in itself. But there are times when I think I forget those reasons. I forget that I actually do love to spend time with just him. Like when the dishes are piled up in the sink, and the laundry is in a heap on our bed waiting to be folded, dinner needs to be made, the bills need to be paid, but we don't know how they're all going to get paid, Olivia had another "potty training accident" on the carpet, the "check engine" light is on in the car, the garage is unorganized, the floors are dirty, the neighbor kids are all in our house....on and on it goes. And suddenly, out of the blue, we get an unexpected surprise. Jon's mom, the greatest mother-n-law a girl could ever ask for, took all three kids up to Portland to have a fun sleepover at Auntie Carey's house. So last night I came home from work and was greeted by a quiet, clean house and a happy husband. We had such a wonderful night together, just the two of us. And it was so wonderful to go to bed and not have to set the alarm. We slept in as late as we possibly could, and stayed in our pj's till noon. We went out to lunch, just the two of us, no kids menus and crayon cups, no high chairs, no ceaseless chatter, just meaningful adult conversation. Then we mosied on over to Starbuck's for our favorite drinks, mine: double tall nonfat one pump sugar free vanilla latte, and Jon didn't even roll his eyes when I ordered....now that's romantic. We got home and realized hey, we can go on a run together! We both try to work out during the week on our own, I usually go for a run early in the morning when everyone is sleeping. Later, I stay with the kids while Jon goes for a run or workout before work. But today, we did something we've never done in almost ten years of marriage: run together. I loved it, side by side, except when we got to the hills, I couldn't keep up with Jon. I watched in awe as he powered up the hills so effortlessly, and it took every ounce of energy I had to stay close behind. But I loved how he would slow down and wait for me, and always made sure I was on the inside and he ran closest to the street....ahhh, love! This was such a wonderful day. It's nice to be reminded that we really do enjoy spending time together, and listening to each other, and laughing, and just having a good time.... just the two of us. At 3:00 pm the romantic, quiet day was over. But we were so glad to see our kids' smiling faces, and also be reminded that we wouldn't want it any other way: a busy house, with three kids and tons of laundry!