The Winds of Change

I feel like I'm moving into a completely new arena of parenthood. My children went to their first sleepover this weekend.

On one hand, it was wonderfully liberating. I have never been without my children for more than a couple of hours since they were born. Never ever. Skeeter and I went to dinner (at the Olive Garden -- yummy, yummy!), then we went home and watched Waking Ned Devine (a quirky little movie, but quite good). The movie ended at about 11:30, and we went to bed.

Not an exciting night, certainly, but it was fantastic. During that entire time, I didn't have to be the policeman or the referee. I was just a woman, enjoying the evening with her husband.

On the other hand, I didn't sleep well. I kept waking every couple of hours, thinking that I needed to check on the children for some reason. They were fine, of course, and it wasn't even that I was worried about them. I had trouble relaxing once my mind was unoccupied, simply because checking on them is what I do.

It's a very good thing that changes come a bit at a time. It would be too much of a shock for me if it came all at once.