Today I went to a monthly meetup with some friends. It happens every month from 3-6 PM on a Sunday. This means that I leave during nap time and come home before bedtime.

Normally, lately, Ellen screams the entire time I am gone. Actually… correction, I don’t even have to leave the house for this to happen. She loses it even if I just leave the room for 2 minutes. Or turn my back on her. Or if she turns her back on me… you get it. Maintain constant, connected sightlines, or there will be screaming.

But today’s excursion was a vast improvement because

1. Ellen only screamed part of the time
2. Lewis didn’t scream (he usually feeds off Ellen’s drama)
3. Kyle got Ellen to eat some dinner (she’s normally screaming too hard to eat)

Best part though? Hands down: coming home.

When I walked through the door, Ellen stopped what she was doing and started crawling as fast as she could towards me, giggling uncontrollably and babbling on about something that sounded like a baby’s version of, “hey mom! Guess what I did while you were gone!”

And then I scooped her up and she wouldn’t let me put her down. She just kept babbling on and on, catching me up on the afternoon.

Later, Lewis lost his mind over something stupid (3 year olds… sigh), and he came to sit on my lap for comfort. Ellen was already there and was NOT interested in sharing me. So she literally pushed Lewis off my lap while yelling at him, as if to say, “oh hell no, brother. Mom is mine. I MISSED HER.”

Hilarious.

Also, I love my friends and they’re the best. Whenever I see them, I can’t wait to get away, have a break, and catch up. But no matter how amazing they are, I love even more that my favorite part is coming home.