I thoroughly enjoy being with her because she is fun, loving, entertaining, curious, and hilarious. She's also got some pretty stellar dance moves and never turns down the chance to shake it with me. Also, she doesn't hold my awful moves against me, which is also why she's the only person that I dance in front of.
Harper has her rough moments, for sure. We both do but even when she's at her worst- yes, even when she is yelling that she doesn't love me or my kisses!!!- I still like Harper. I'm not one of those parents that "needs" breaks from parenting. Sure, I like going out with adults or spending one-on-one time with Colty. Sure, I like going shopping by myself and having uninterrupted time to get ready or read, but I never choose to do these things just so that I can be away from Harper.
The truth is (and it's no secret if you know me) that I don't like being away from Harper, especially at night. I don't sleep well when she isn't with me. When I'm away from her, I'm always thinking of her or wishing she was there to give me a quick squeeze. When I'm away from her, I'm constantly wondering what she's doing and if she's having fun. When I'm away from her, I'm always missing her.
Basically, the two halves of my heart- the one that remains with me and the one that belongs to Harper- just don't like being away from one another.
- - -
We went to Wendover (my first, and most likely last, time ever) last night to celebrate a birthday and spend some time with Whitney and her main squeeze, Hank. We rode the fun bus (which wasn't fun at all), which means we didn't get home until around 4:30 in the morning (one of the things that made the fun bus not fun), which means that Harper spent the night at Grandma Carrie's house. (Note here that Harper enjoys going to Grandma Carrie's house. She always has fun when she is there. Grandma Carrie's house is a safe and loving (and usually spoiling) place. I love that. I love not having to worry. I love that missing Harper and her sweet kisses is my biggest concern when she's there.)
When we got home, the house felt empty (it always does when she isn't here, which is, mind you, a very rare occasion). I felt empty. Going to bed without kissing Harper and tucking her in a bit tighter just doesn't feel right. Waking up in a house without her is even worse. I got up as early as I could, got ready as quickly as I could, and drove to my in-laws' as quickly as I could (I didn't speed... too much), and got a huge Harper hug as quickly as I could.
The great thing about Harper being three is that she misses me just as much as I miss her. She always showers me with hugs and kisses when I pick her up and I love it. Picking Harper up after a night/evening away is definitely a magical time and I eat it right up. Harper always seems to be a bit cuter after a night away. Her snuggles/kisses/hugs seem sweeter, too, and I get as many of them as I can.
I was so happy to see her this morning- so, so happy. I knew right away that we had to do something super fun today. Never mind my messy house (which is still messy). Never mind my stinky casino hair (which is, thankfully, no longer stinky). Never mind piano practicing, laundry, or grocery shopping. Today needed to be a Harper day.
A Harper day almost always includes a park visit. Since this was an extra special Harper day, we went to Liberty Park. We spent nearly four hours there. Harper played and I read. We had a picnic. We walked around. We played with Hazelnut (who was, by the way, so happy to be included- "park" is one of her favorite words after all). We people watched. We made some friends (furry and human). We fed the ducks. Harper hit a lady in the head with a big piece of squished bread (lucky for us, she was a nice lady and took no offense) with her daughter-of-a-professional-baseball-player-arm.
In short, we had a lovely afternoon.
There really are few things that I love as much as I love taking Harper and Hazelnut to the park. In fact, I can barely wait until we can go again.
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