To begin with, it was positively glorious here in New England, sunny and about 75 degrees. After 9:00 Mass, my husband and I ran into some of our oldest and dearest friends in town--friends who've known our boys since they were knee-high to a grasshopper--and caught up with them over coffee and doughnuts.
In the afternoon, son #2 (who'd gone to a later Mass, as had his slugabed college-aged youngest brother) drove up from his apartment about an hour south of here to spend some time with us. He brought his overflowing laundry basket with him, but that was okay with me. He's getting so independent and almost never does that anymore, so having the opportunity to do his laundry for him was almost a...I was going to say "treat," but that makes me sound like a lunatic. Let's just say it was a pleasure to get to spoil him a little and send him home with piles of clean, neatly folded clothes.
While we were waiting for son #2 to arrive, our oldest son and his wife Skyped with us, and we got to see our adorable almost-one-year-old granddaughters toddling all around their house. Those girls are so unbelievably beautiful, precious, adorable...there aren't enough adjectives. When we're on Skype, they come close to the screen sometimes and smile at us. We could just eat them up.
Doesn't this sound like a great day so far? But it wasn't over yet.
When son #2 got here, we watched the Notre Dame v. UVA lacrosse quarterfinal game, which my husband had DVR'd earlier so that we could watch it with him and his brother. My husband and I sat with our sons in our "new room" (we've had this room--which used to be our garage--for about 7 years now, but it will always be new to us) and enjoyed some snacks and beverages while we cheered on the Irish together. In a gritty contest between two well-matched teams, Notre Dame pulled off a 12-10 win to move on to the semifinals.
Could things get any better? They could.
Son #4, who was on a long road trip from VA to MA, called several times to chat with us while he was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. Son #3 sent a series of texts, along with photos, giving us updates on his weekend fun--which included playing in a men's league lacrosse game and scoring 4 goals.
I've blogged several times this year about adjusting to an empty nest after raising five boys in this house, but I'll tell you: the nest didn't feel very empty yesterday. Two sons were with us in the flesh, and I felt the others here in spirit. My cup--my nest--overflows!
As I was standing at the kitchen sink after the game, cleaning up the mess I'd made putting together some raspberry cobbler for my husband (because the day hadn't been perfect enough yet), I glanced out the window. I always love the view from the kitchen window, because our yard is bordered by thick woods that give the feeling that we're out in the country instead of minutes from downtown. The trees look beautiful in all seasons; and while our woodland view might not be as spectacular as the lake view my husband had growing up, we know how blessed we are to have it.
The view I had yesterday was particularly lovely, though, because of the two brothers who were standing in the yard with their lacrosse sticks, playing catch. Watching them out there, smiling and talking as they lazily tossed the ball to each other, filled me with so much happiness. Such an ordinary sight--one we used to see all the time when this house was filled with growing boys--but extraordinary to me.
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