Robyn's Departure

First off, I am really late on this post. Believe it or not, it is harder to find free time now that we are minus Robyn.

We fall short when trying to think of a way to concisely state everything Robyn has done for us. Let me try: Robyn & John dropped everything in their personal lives to rush up to the Pacific Northwest when they heard I entered the hospital. Then she spent the next 6 months taking complete care of me, Chesley, and the babies. I mean laundry, cleaned bathrooms, dinner every night, breakfast every morning, watched the girls for date night once a week, taught me how to be a mother, rearranged our furniture, made fun of Days of Our Lives with me, gave us oodles of sleep, showered our daughters in attention, love, and learning opportunities.

We spent Friday, September 2nd, as a family on a trip across the Sound to wander Ikea. We were on a mission to find a new entertainment center to replace the baby death trap we currently have. Don't get me wrong, the tower of cinder blocks and wood planks that constitute our entertainment center have serviced us well, since before I was even on the scene. But it feels about time to upgrade our college life furnishings. Anyhoo, we topped the evening off with a dinner at Spaghetti Factory, one of Robyn's favorite places.

We all huddled into the car to catch the earliest ferry on September 3rd. I am still impressed that Robyn can squeeze and fit between the two car seats! I am sure the girls miss her sitting back there with them. We kept the girls in their PJs. They loved the airport! It must have been all of the bright lights, but they could not stop looking everywhere. We waited while Robyn checked in. After that, goodbyes were said. We are so glad we went to the airport to say goodbye.

Now, my days are notably lacking in adult interaction. It feels like I have to run at such a high level of energy until Ches comes home. Then I want to just crash and let him watch the girls, but dinner has to be made, chores done, and then it is usually straight into bath time followed by bedtime. We are more tired and have a harder time fitting even littler things in, such as trolling craigslist for cheap baby stuff.

At the same time, we also have a sense of pride of being able to make it on our own. I especially feel proud to have survived this first week and a half without Robyn while Ches goes to work. The girls have been rapidly improving on their mobility skills. They have also learned how to vigorously shake their arms, making feeding time a bit tricky. But we have managed to survive (even the basil plant is still alive!).

Robyn was already Ches' mom before her stay up here, but she truly became my mom as well. I feel honored to know such a cool chica and even more so to have been able to learn so much. She passed down tidbits of wisdom (and yummy recipes), but I gained much from observing her too. We are very excited to know she and John will be back up here fort the girls' first birthday.

Thank you, Robyn! And thank you, John, for letting us keep her so long! We love and miss you both!