One thing divorced life has taught me - the comfort in going home to the same place every day is underrated.
6:55 a.m. - Stirring Chaos
- Syrup to decorate granite counters and pancakes smeared about wooden floors
- Kids mash sticky paper towels into a breakfast table to match the butter prints all over the fridge
- Two barking Aussies begging to greet the mailman on his morning trek
- Startling excitement crashes the tulip from the windowsill
- Initialed homework assignments shoved into green backpacks
- Chocolate dishes from an ice cream adventure soak in a white bubbled sink
3:45 p.m. - Simple Afternoons
- Cups of warm tea on a white deck
- Wooden porch swing cushions at its feet
- Three front steps covered in fresh lawn shavings
- Baseballs and brown little league gloves piled beneath an old battered door
- Brown and wet footprints stain the mud room
- Lunch boxes thrown below hangers cordially waiting for a job they never do
7:26 p.m. - Shadowed Memories
- Free-spirited kids dance around with Crayola crayons weaved through their fingertips
- Baby blue, grass green and sunset orange colored finger paint drip from their palms
- Ashy dim desk lights ignite dancing darkened shadows to music only playing in their heads
- Roaming finger puppets come alive
12:23 a.m. - Silent Magic
- Sleeping children sprawl upside down on Toy Story sheets
- Moana night lights glow in the corner
- Buzz Light Year peaks out from the soft pink sheets
- Bedtime stories thrown all around the room
- Limited lights and soft TV keep the air gentle
- Checkered blankets and old T-shirt quilts warm gray couches
- Leftover popcorn in big red bowls
- Quiet ticking clocks to softly guide back down the stairs
Stability Every Day
- One well-worn bed
- Falling asleep in the same space, under the same covers, waking up to the same things every single day
- No question of where I'll be or which bags to grab, what I need or when I'll be back
- No way of knowing what each day's troubles will bring
- But with a steadfast home, I am the lucky girl
- For everything I love will be in the same place tomorrow.
