Ronan. We are back home and I am almost done with the whole holiday/celebrations of all things that still feel weird without you. My birthday is Saturday and I promise you I am trying to have a super good attitude about it, but I don’t really feel much like celebrating. This does not fly with your daddy, as all he wants to do is make sure my day is over-the-top special.
What is the nicest way to tell him that over-the-top special to me would be hiding in bed all day, under the covers? I can’t do that though. It would break your brothers’ hearts, so I will suck it up and do what is best for them. I will smile when I blow out my candles and make the same wish I do every year — the one where I just hope so much that you are alright, safe, and that someday I will see you again.
I will smile for the picture that I know will be taken and I will forever wonder how in the world I can look so happy in a picture when I feel like I am still so broken, sad, and shattered. It truly is amazing the things we as adults can do to survive such horrific pain.
Washington was all things perfect. Well, almost 😉 I basically go there and hibernate for the winter. I feel like I did a lot of sleeping, which I never do well here. Every night was the same — I would crawl into bed with Poppy and pass out until she woke me up. Quinn and Liam have their own bedroom there, but they prefer to sleep in my room with me every night in another bed that is in the room. It’s like a big slumber party and is one of the things in life I love so much.
Every morning when Poppy would wake up and I didn’t want to, Liam would grab her and say, “Mom, do you want me to take her downstairs and play with her so you can sleep a little longer?” Best brother ever. I happily thanked him and told him what a great big brother he was as I snuggled up to Quinn to sleep for another hour or so.
I don’t know if it’s the fresh air, cold weather, or just the comfort of being at home that knocks me out, but it always seems to do so. I also spent a lot of time running, which felt so nice. I finally feel like I have my running mojo back and it always seems to come back when I am there. I have a marathon to run in a couple of weeks, so I made myself be pretty disciplined with my fake marathon training. I was pretty consistent with running my standard 3.5 miles just about every night.
I somehow talked Brianna into running this thing with me. Must be the older sister influence 😉 She ran with me at home and we even did seven miles one night, which was surprisingly pretty easy. Her little 19-year-old body will be just fine.
Back in Arizona is hard for me, I’m not going to lie. The first night we got home I felt like I was sucker-punched as I walked through the door to our house without you bouncing behind me. I handed Poppy to your daddy, as he hadn’t seen her in a few days, told him I was exhausted and asked him to please take care of her so I could go to sleep. I knew the sleep wouldn’t come, as all the voices in my head were screaming so loudly.
I haven’t touched anything to sleep in over a year, but that night I needed to just pass out into oblivion for a solid six hours, so I did. Oh, how I sometimes miss the days of complete darkness with my old friend Ambien, when the world would just quietly slip away. I had to give up my love for that shit a long time ago due to loving it a little too much, but I think once a year is an o.k. compromise. Sometimes I just need a night of blackness. I had warned your daddy, so he was on Poppy duty and was happy to do so, as he had missed her so much.
Speaking of Poppy, Ronan. Uhhhh… remember when I asked you to make her “extra spicy?” Is it too late to give just a bit of that spice back? What in the world happened to my sweet, cuddly baby girl who just cooed and stared sweetly into my eyes all day long?!
Now my days are filled with this very wild, strong-willed girl who reminds me of a little boy I once knew so very much. She has turned into such a little spitfire who is on the go all the time and is constantly babbling, screaming (in a good way), and is into everything. To say she keeps me on my toes is an understatement, as I am chasing her around all day and she is only crawling. Imagine what she is going to be like once she starts to walk!
You know I am loving every second of it and so are your daddy and brothers. She is full-on obsessed with your daddy, too — in a way that I really don’t remember any of you boys being. If we are in a room together with her, she wants your daddy over me. I secretly love it, as it is amazing to see the bond between a father and a daughter. It’s all so new to us all but so beyond sweet. Your daddy is in total heaven about it.
Alright little man, this is all the update I can do for tonight. Back to writing this book I go.
I miss you. I love you. I hope you are safe.
xx
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