We went back to Rochester for a very quick (less than 36 hr) trip to get Jack's 4 year, Elizabeth's 18 months and a family picture taken at the Plummer House. I wasn't anticipating the disaster that it would be. Within 2 minutes of being at the Plummer gardens, Jack had mud and grass stains on his white shirt that he was supposed to wear for our family picture. I figured that Elizabeth would be difficult during her pictures and would scream and refuse to smile and that Jack would be the ham for the camera. Boy, did I have that mixed up! Jack refused to even look at the camera most of the time and Elizabeth was the star of the show. I was so disappointed in Jack's behavior which was most likely due to lack of sleep (we arrived in Rochester around midnight Thursday night). I didn't even bother to have him change into his second outfit since I knew it was a waste of time. Jennifer is an excellent photographer so I'm hoping she captured at least one good picture of Jack. I tried to capture a few pictures myself at the end of the session but ended up grabbing Elizabeth out of the pond before she went in head first.
After lunch, the kids and Matt enjoyed a long nap while I visited my old lab. I always debate if I miss working and truly I do, at times, miss the mental stimulation of working in a research lab. After spending time in the lab Friday afternoon, I concluded that I do not miss the disfunctional environment I used to work in. Believe me, when I say disfunctional I am being way too nice!!! I miss most, but definitely not all, of the people I worked with and am not surprised that certain people have not and will not change! I don't miss being told how many hours to work and that what I'm doing is never enough. I don't miss being torn between staying late to get my work done or picking up my kids from daycare so they were not the last one's left at the end of the day. I'm glad that I get to spend the days with my kids without worrying about what else I should be doing. I'm glad that I can cuddle them in the morning for as long as we want without worrying about getting to work on time. I'm glad that I'm the one to wipe away their tears when they are hurt, tuck them into bed at naptime, and witness the countless ways they amaze me everyday. I will say that I was probably a better, more patient mom when I was working. I devoted all my attention to them when they were awake. Now, it's hard to get everything done in the day while giving them all my attention and I certainly do miss my "me" time during the day, including time to go to the bathroom in private and enjoy a cup of coffee with friends. But at this point in my life, I can now say that I'm happy to be where I am. Home with my babies.
It was too short of a trip to Rochester. I didn't get to see most of the people that I wanted to see since I was also fighting a migraine the entire trip. I didn't even get to drive past our old house. We had to get back Saturday early enough to pick Misha up from the kennel. So to my friends that I did see, it was fabulous! And to those that I missed, I'm truly sorry and hope you understand how hard it is to pack in that much into a 36 hr trip.
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