You and I

The lights in the kitchen were on and had a familiar home like glow to them. I walked to the cupboard and pulled out a glass cup, walking to the fridge to fill it with ice and water. I took a long drink and then breathed deeply, tired from the day. From out of the hall trotted my 6 year old son Garrett. He had two hot wheel race cars in his hands and he raced them around the walls and carpets, making adorable sound effects. I smiled at him and then said
“Garrett, you can be up until Daddy gets home and then I want you and Hazel in bed ok?” Garrett stopped his playing and looked over at me, leaning on the kitchen counter with water in my hand.
“Ok mommy.”
He had always been cooperative. He was like me in the way that if you asked him nicely he would do anything. He stood up then and came to the kitchen. He had big beautiful brown eyes and chestnut brown hair. He had my nose and his dad’s lips. He went to the cupboard and stretched his entire body to try and reach to open it up. I smiled and went over and opened it for him, getting a small glass and giving it to him. He smiled and then went to the fridge and filled it up with ice and water. Then he took a long drink and gulped it all down, placing it loudly on the counter and then racing off to the carpet where his cars lay.

I finished my glass as well and took both glasses and set them in the sink, glancing out the window anxiously, awaiting my husband’s return. He was gone at a meeting that he left for after a nice dinner with our little family. I hated when he had to leave but understood it none the less. Unfortunately, neither of us spent as much time with the other as we wanted. Me with my college classes to teach at Berkeley and him with technological business related things to attend to. On weekends we had all the time we wanted, but that still wasn’t enough. I had two classes a day, one from 8-10 and one from 2-4:30. He had ever changing meetings and things to do, so if by chance neither of us were home sometimes the kids had to be dropped off at Ry’s house to play with his kids for a couple of hours.

In exhaustion at the thought of so much work I had left to do for the night I walked down the hall to Hazel’s room. She was 4, her and her brother being only 2 years apart. She had long pretty almost blonde soft hair, blue eyes like me, but olive skin like her father. She looked up at me from behind her large doll house.
“Hi momma!” she said excitedly. I smiled and said
“Hello love. Playing dollies?” she nodded and picked up some of her well groomed dolls and walked them around, giving them voices and characters. She reminded me so much of myself at that age. I walked back out of her room and went back to the living room, plopping down on our vintage couch. Our house had its very own style to it. I liked to observe all of the ways that each of our own home decorating opinions that had formed from our parents played into the way each of us wanted to decorate certain things in our house. It was easy to point out what I had decorated and what he had had a say in.

I took a long breath and tried to let my body relax from the long day. Then the door opened and my husband walked in, laptop bag in hand. He set it down and I got up, walking to him, smiling, and kissing him immediately. He never stopped smelling the way he smelled when I first met him in the year 2011. I loved him with all my heart then and I loved him with all my heart now. He smiled at me and we embraced a while longer. Garrett ran up and grabbed his dad’s leg. His dad then made a roar noise and lifted his leg up and down like a monster, carrying Garrett around with it. Garrett giggled and laughed. Soon Hazel popped out from around the hall and said
“Daddy!!” The children loved their father, who spent equal amount of time with them as I did. Soon the children and their father broke out into a play session, although I could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

After a good solid 10 minutes I said
“Alright kiddy’s, mom and dad are pooped. Time for bed!” The both whined and I once again loathed the fact that I was the one who had to be the fun sucker.
“I know I know. It sucks. But just think, tomorrow has a whole bunch of fun filled things and the sooner you get there the sooner you can have fun!” That quelled their whining but they were still hesitant. I looked at my husband and we both knew it was time to commence the regular routine. I ushered the children to bed while he went and got two mugs of night time tea for the kids. By the time he was done with making the tea I had them laying in their beds with their night lamps on, cozy and warm. Tonight he would do Hazel and I would do Garrett. I walked into Garrett’s spaceship room and sat down on his bed, giving him his warm tea. He smiled and sipped it cautiously.

Then I sang him a song. I sang him a song I had learned from my father who had learned it from boy scouts.
“Our paddle’s clean and bright, flashing like silver
Swift as the wild goose flies
Dip dip and swing
Dip dip and swing and back
Flashing like silver
Swift as the wild goose flies
Dip dip and swing”

Garrett smiled drowsily at me and I kissed his forehead. I took his almost empty tea out of his hands and turned off his light.
“Goodnight my sunbeam. Sweet dreams.”

Then I slowly closed the door and tip toed out of the hall. In the kitchen I found my husband, throwing away the tea bag from Hazel’s tea quietly. I smiled at him and then did the same. Then he kissed me passionately in a way he couldn’t around the children. I loved him more and more every day, and he was my true love.
I never failed to be grateful of the fact that each day we kissed and loved each other.