Post game wrap-up 10:30 PM

So I have had a few hours now to decompress and enjoy playing zone defense again.

Mom rang the doorbell and the kids all ran to the door crying "Mama!! Mama!!" she was really missed.  And not just because they were tired of dealing with an amateur -- All is right in their world now.

Sara had a great time with the girls and would really want to go again next year.  I think she will wait until I get middle-age amnesia though before asking me.

Going into this I thought about how great it was that I could give Sara a weekend off to get some time away from the kids and help her recharge her sorely depleted batteries.  Bonus was that I wouldn't have to think of something to get her for Valentine's Day.  However, in the span of 56 hours I learned two important things - one about myself and one about my marriage.  I learned lots of other things too (like how to comb hair) - but I probably should have picked those up long ago.

About myself:  Perspective is everything.  Because I had this stupid blog to write - i didn't mind too bad all the crazy and annoying stuff that was going on with the kids.  Normally, when I come home from work and something like this happens - I have zero patience for it and I freak out.  However, this weekend I saw each event as an opportunity to fill my blog and hopefully turn it into something that would be looked at in a humorous light.  In both situations the stimulus is the same...but my attitude completely changed how I responded to them.  I am going to try to keep this in mind next time I am faced with toddler induced entropy.

About my marriage.  I am sooooo very lucky to have Sara.  She is the rock of our family.  She puts up with all of this everyday and finds time to still get to the actual chores of shopping, laundry, cooking, etc.   She did so much pre-work for me that all I had to do was keep the inertia going.  Without all of her hard work day-to-day, including the sleep-deprived nights, we'd never make it.  And she has been working in this hyper-accelerated chaos mode for over two and half years since Brooke came along.  Not to mention the other 7.5 years that preceded her arrival.  I can now only begin to empathize with her days...because I still haven't truly experienced it.  Sara - thank you for all your hard work.  You are amazing...and I am very, very lucky to be married to you.  Plus I just plain missed you all weekend. You are the true Jimmer in my life.

Thanks everyone for reading along this weekend, the moral support and feedback.  I apologize for the number of inside jokes, both religious and family based.  Thanks to Matt for his pictures...definitely a nice touch.   Feel free but not obligated to comment or pass it on.