Long Weekend

I'm not always the biggest fan of long weekends.
There I said it.
I know I'm not alone in this. Whether you're a working mom who enjoys the comfort of a quiet cup of coffee at your desk or a stay-at-home mom who enjoys the comfort of a routine, long weekends can throw everyone for a loop.
Kids included.
But this weekend was a little different.
Perhaps it was the perspective brought by seeing one of my favourite people in the whole world at the end of the day Friday. Or celebrating my birthday after post-haircut drinks. Or maybe it was the fact that I slept in on Saturday, had a relaxing birthday dinner with my family in the evening. Or maybe it was the family trip to Buffalo on Sunday. Or maybe it was Monday where I was up before everyone today and enjoyed coffee and tv while I woke up on my own terms. Or maybe it was watching Shrek at the movies while sharing popcorn with Matt.
Or maybe it was the fact that Mike and I made it through the whole weekend without arguing.
Whatever it was, or maybe it was all of it. But, this was the best long weekend I've had in a long time.
The truth is, life has been stressful lately.
Ridiculously so.
And I needed a break from it all.
And finally I had one.
Even though break wasn't exactly defined by relaxing. It was still fun.
The other day I was talking to my friend about kids. Specifically mine. And how it's so bizarre to see the different relationship I have with my kids. With Chloe, because she's 2, it's hard. I don't really get to chill with her and enjoy much fun stuff. Like, with Matt, we got to the movies early and we munched popcorn and chatted. And I loved it. But he's 6. Six year olds can hold conversations. I'm not at that point with Chloe.
But, I'm seeing stuff in the works. On Saturday we were at Walden Galleria and I took her to Sephora. It was exciting to see her at the makeup mecca. She's incredibly girly and it was absolutely adorable to see her running around the store dancing to the music and saying "makeup! makeup!" She was charming the staff, and when one of the girls asked if she could put some sparkles on Chloe's cheeks Chloe turned to her and said "Chloe's a princess" and proceeded to point out her new sparkly shoes.
And that's my girl.
I know parenting isn't all about the sparkles and makeup and bonding over movies, but there's something pretty amazing about finding out that you actually enjoy spending time with your kids. Cuz, really, I can't imagine going through life not liking them.
And I realized a few things this weekend. I realized that as confusing as life is sometimes, at the end of the day I need to trust my instincts. I need to remember that even though I don't know what's down the road that there's always something to look forward to - even if I don't know what that is.
And tonight ... well, let's be honest. The something I'm looking forward to is the Bachelorette.
Bring on the summer. I'm ready.