Brunch

A Sunday Brunch.

My parents, my sister and her husband, my nephew, and my sweet little family of four. Today, on Valentine's day.........we were together. All of us!

Our son was beaming with excitement as we drove to brunch this morning. For one, he was enjoying his new leapster game but most importantly, he was anticipating his road trip. My son and his cousin were invited to go to on a trip with my parents. They will be gone for one week. One week of a very quiet house. One week without his constant charm and positive energy. One week without my baby boy.....

BUT.......one week with his loving and extremely doting Nona and HP (Huge Pop). One week with his Great Grandparents, Great Aunt's and Uncle's. One week with his best little friend, his cousin (just two and a half months younger). One week of being completely spoiled with hot chocolate, apple fritters, video games, a heated outside swimming pool, and my Aunt's famous morning pancakes.

When faced with the decision, I have to admit.....I hesitated. He has gone for a week before and it nearly broke my heart. BUT, it was one of the best experiences of his little life. He still recalls the many memories from his previous trip with my parents and the bonding that took place was undeniable. BUT, it's hard when he is gone as our family does not seem complete. BUT, he is with my parents and he adores them and he told me the other night, "Mommy, I will miss you but I still love you and I AM ALREADY HAVING FUN!!!!!". Okay, so in the long run, a pretty easy decision. How can we selfishly keep him from this trip with his cousin and his wonderful Grandparents when they are only going to be gone for one week. Plus, we all have ichat, so we will be able to see his sparkly little smile every single day.

So today, on Valentine's Day, we hugged and kissed our little boy one hundred times. One hundred times to last the whole week that he is going to be gone. Honestly, my Valentine's day heart is half full right now but my parents is filled to the max. And I can share. The loving and excited look in all of their faces told us that we had made the right choice by letting him go. Letting him experience the world right beyond the reach of our fingertips. Letting him get spoiled silly for seven days straight. Letting the bonding process between he and my extended family continue to cement itself in stone.

Our brunch was our Valentine's celebration because we were all together as one big happy family. Conversations jumping and streaming over and across the table, everyone excited to see one another. Everyone happy to be together. So yes, my Valentine's Day heart is a little half full right now, without our precious boy upstairs snoozing soundly in his bed, but again, it is filled to the max for my parents. And a strong and loving relationship with Grandparents is one of the most important relationships to nurture and develop. My son KNOWS how much he is loved. His little free spirit of a soul was able to drive away blowing kisses without a care in the world..........because he KNOWS that he is loved.

So much has changed in my life and yet, so much has stayed the same. The love in my life has never faded. Loving others and knowing how much I am loved.......that, thankfully, has been a constant.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!