Transition

 Today is a transition day. That is what Rob and I have come to call the days when the kids come back home to us. Everyone's a little off and unsure. Either too polite or aloof. I read the things telling me all the contradictory ways we should be handling these moments. Telling us to give them extra attention, to let them alone, to make them their favorite meal, to just be normal. No matter how we slice it, it always just feels like a transition. 

We have learned to just BE in their absence. To focus on each other and Welles. We try to rest and regroup. But the house is very quiet. Until it’s not. 

Their energy is palpable when they return. I try to quell my urges to coddle them, and instead take the temperature of the room and just be here if needed. 

But it is always a transition. They will be a little needy. They will test the new boundaries a bit. And then they will settle in, and just be home.