Everyone waited up for Dad and Ethan last night. They arrived back home around 11:40 pm. I’d gone to bed for a while and slept from about 10-10:30. Elianna came in and laid down on our bed. I gave her a back rub for a while, not too long. People talk about how their teenagers will come in and talk to them when it’s later at night. They could be super tired but they are so thrilled to have their child sharing with them a piece of their heart and their time.

I wouldn’t say it happens often. My oldest would do that more, where randomly at 11:30 at night he’d start telling me all about something usually related to sports. Those times I had that thrilling feeling, where you’re just so happy that this person is talking to you. With my daughter it’s different. She’s more like her dad in that she is more reserved and keeps her feelings mostly to herself. She never liked journal prompts with personal questions.

But she liked to write stories, or blurbs about an animal she’d researched. Our personalities are different, but we have our femaleness to bond us. If I’ve done the right thing when she comes in, and thrown my phone off to the side like the waste of time in parenting it so oftentimes is, then she’ll pick it up and start looking through pictures. Last night we were texting Ethan, asking about their eta and seeing how long it’d take him to notice it wasn’t me.

Josh’s dad used to make one day round trips. During his freshman year of college, I traveled to visit him a couple of times with his parents and sister. I don’t remember what we did for hotel rooms. I think I must’ve stayed with a friend, one of the girls they knew and who had a futon. This past time when we visited Seward it looked different because the trees were all big. Before, when we were there, they were young trees nowhere near as grown.

My daughter and I went out tonight after a family dinner out. The Bath & Body works soaps were on sale for $2.95 a piece, insane. But good timing since I was there to buy lots of them. I like to use them as welcoming gifts. I thought my son looked taller today, but he said it just because I haven’t seen him in a while. He was right. His head was no taller than the last pencil line. One of them had grown several inches since earlier this year. I’m not surprised.