5 Things I Learned Last Week

In the world of Brynna, one good car ride does not imply a second good car ride.  Tuesday was awesome.  As we drove to Oklahoma, she snacked and watched the "yardigans" for about an hour, napped for almost 2 hours and then played the last hour and a half.  Granted, it wasn't perfect.  I was pulling out new toys from the passenger seat every 10 minutes like Houdini, but we made it to Tulsa without leaving my sanity on the road somewhere. The drive home on Saturday...not so much.  There was very little napping, we were no longer impressed with the trick of pulling out new toys and everyone just wanted to get out of the car - Miles (the dog) included.

You can still get lost going somewhere you've been a hundred times.  Or, more specifically, Hope can. Hope and I have been friends since we were 11. My parents have lived in the same house for the past 12 years. On her way there, Hope missed her exit and drove to Arkansas.  I'm not exaggerating.  She called me 60 miles southeast of my parents house, about 15 minutes from the Arkansas state line.  It's not a new occurrence for Hope to call me for directions, but this was a new twist. 

Newborns really do wake that many times at night.  I think when it's your child, you reach a point of delirium where you are no longer aware of how tired you are. While I love my goddaughter Hannah like she's my own, I did not birth her and therefore, did not have this luxury.  (If you can call sleep-deprived delerium a luxury.) While staying with them a few days, I was always (2am or middle of the afternoon) acutely aware of how tired I was.  And am.  It's a week later and I'm still sleepy.

Brynna has a few great loves in life and topping the list are Yaya and Papa.  While I do not doubt her love for her me, I'm pretty sure she was not aware that she hadn't seen me in days.  Give a kid 2 dogs, 2 horses, 2 cats, cows and 65 acres to roam, and she's happy as a lark.  When I got there Friday afternoon, she ran over, gave me a hug and then immediately wanted to go sit by Papa again.  (Sidenote: I did not realize until I typed this that my dad is Noah.  He's got all kinds of animals two-by-two!)

Try as we may to disagree, they are our minis - all of them.  Hannah is not even 3 month old and she will put you in your place with a look.  Just like her mama.  MacKenzie, Nia and Nala put on several shows for us (including a beautiful rendition of If You're Happy and You Know It...) because they always want everyone to feel included.  Just like their mama.  And depending on the moment, BG had lots of fun, lots to say and lots of attitude.  Just like...her daddy.