You can see it when I look at you

Today is Memorial Day.  A day taken in memory of those who bravely serve our country.  How did I observe it?  By allowing two of our active-duty military to take the first vacation of their five-year marriage.

Thursday night, Brian and I packed up and drove down to Fayetteville to watch my cousin's kids: 4-year-old Reuben and 10-month-old Lilly.  My cousin and her husband have been stationed abroad, away from family, for nearly that whole time (sprinkled with a few deployments), and thus haven't been able to "get away" like young married couples should be able to do.  They took off for a fun-filled military weekend in our nation's capitol, and Brian and I embarked on a mini-parenting adventure.  Some lessons we learned along the way:

• After waking up at 6:45 to a diaper FULL of feces so foul I literally gagged, I will never complain about having to drag my butt out of bed to go to class again.  (well, I probably will. but maybe I'll complain less.)
• Happy baby > cranky baby.  However, sleeping baby > happy baby , especially at 3:30 am. 
• Some people actually require coaxing to eat.  Imagine that!  Odd thing : it required no effort to get him to eat asparagus, but the chicken was a bit of a struggle.
• Ben & Jerry's ice cream is still worth it, even if it required an hour long trip and a venture into the ghetto (sans little ones, no worries) to get it.
• Pay attention to slight hills on the mile walk to the park.  Little boys on bikes and heavy girls in strollers don't agree with going up on the way back.
• Brian's conclusion: Parenting would be easy if one were independently wealthy or retired.
• My conclusion : I want babies.  Just definitely not yet.  And I think I've found the person I'd like to have them with.  He was dependable, supportive, good with both of them, and in love with the way I look with a baby in my arms.  Before him, I always pictured *my* kids, *my* future, with sort of a ... blank abyss in that whole husband/father spot.  Now my *my*s have been replaced by an *our* (this transition began a while ago, and received a good bit of solidifying this weekend).

I began with intentions of postingt more, but the hour long non-slumber party this morning kicked my hiney.  Time for some (kiddo free) snuggle time with my love.

However you chose to do so, I hope that you honored those whom we remember today.