Reunited, and it feels so good!

I thought about leaving Wednesday night after my exam to drive to my parents' house to pick up the boys. Snowy weather, blurry eyes after 2 days of exams, and the realization that this would be the LAST night when I would really get to sleep for a long time changed my mind! After the exam, I parked myself on the couch, watched the Olympics, ate some ice cream, and slept for 9 straight hours. That is the first time I've slept that long in one chunk in 2 and a half years. And it was amazing.

Anyway, bright and early on Thursday morning, I checked the weather forecast and saw that there was a lot of snow predicted for upstate New York, and all the schools were closed. After a quick call to my mom, I decided to leave immediately to try to avoid the afternoon storm. The drive was going great -- until I reached the Albany-area -- and it became a total blizzard. Near white-out conditions, traffic moving on only one lane on I-90, accidents everywhere, and tractor trailers speeding past in the unplowed land, sending slush and ice all over the other cars' windshields. I ended up stopping at one point at a rest area to wait for a snow plow to pass so the road would be more manageable. After about an hour and a half of this scary driving, I finally drove out of the storm, and the roads were clear and dry. I was determined to see my boys!

When I got to my parents' house, I could hear my dad asking the boys who was there -- and I walked up the steps, and saw Sam sitting on Mimi's lap. I saw them before they saw me, and I had the biggest lump in my throat. My boys looked so big and grownup, I felt like I hardly recognized them. They just looked different to me -- Sam's hair looked so much redder, Ben's hair so much curlier. I opened the door, and Sam started giggling and shrieking, "Mommy!" Ben ran over to me and kept saying, "Mommy takes a test, Mommy takes a test." Ben made me take off my sneakers and jacket, and they both gave me a giant hug. It felt so good to be back with them, I had missed them so much, but had tried hard not to think about it because I knew I had to concentrate on studying.

The boys had to check me out -- I guess to make sure I was the same Mommy they had left 10 days before. They wanted to see my teeth, my tongue, my earrings, my eyes, etc., etc., etc. All afternoon, I kept catching Sam just staring at me -- like he was expecting me to disappear again or something. Sam seemed to adjust to me being back right away. Ben, however, seemed a little angry with me, and just tested me all day by doing naughty things that my parents said he didn't do the entire time he was there, like throwing his food on the floor at lunchtime. After a few spats (in which I reasserted my dominance as Mommy!), Ben has been attached to me, and gets very upset if I go out of his sight.

We are back home in CT, and the boys had a nice reunion with their father. I am already exhausted and sleep-deprived, but so happy to have my boys back where they belong!