Context: In 2010, my parents came to California from Colorado to spend 3 months helping me adjust to the arrival of my twins. This was my letter to them just before they left. This is a deviation from the typical content on my blog, but something I hold dear to my heart and want to preserve here.

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Dear Mom and Dad,

            It’s quite impossible to express in words how thankful I am for all you’ve done for me these past few months, but I must at least try…one more time!

            You rolled in to town on February 24^th, and are leaving on June 2^nd…so I’ve had you for fourteen weeks.  When you arrived I was in my third trimester, experiencing horrible back pain and huge swollen feet/legs, and I was frantically working on a checklist of things to do before the babies arrived.  Now, as I look back over the past few months since your arrival…I think if I could have written my own story, I would have written it exactly as it occurred.  God gave me an awesome delivery, a quick physical recovery, and a smooth beginning to being a mom of three.  As dad said this morning, I’m running a marathon here, and these past few months have been like rounding the first curve on the track.  But I think I’ve gotten off to a pretty good start!  And you guys were a HUGE part of that equation.

            About a week ago, in a rare quiet moment, I sat down and listed all the things I could think of that you’ve done around here.  And as the list went on and on, so did the tears…as I thought about how blessed I am, and how different things would have been without you.  Just the servant’s heart you both have…doing things without recognition…and at your own initiation…just finding things that would make my life easier and rolling up your sleeves and jumping in to do them – it all blew me away. So here’s the list.  It isn’t comprehensive, but maybe it will be fun for you to read through it and see a glimpse of all you’ve brought to the table!

Mom

Dad

Sewing projects:  made curtains for the nursery, made curtains and chair cushion for Corinne’s room, made cover for family room door, and other random projects (including constant stain removal from clothing after the messy babies arrived!)   Folded baby clothes and helped with laundry   Cleaning – just anything that needed to be done, like dusting or kitchen clean-up, cleaning the  washer/dryer (who does that?), picking up/organizing   Decorated the house/yard for twins’ homecoming   Made Mother’s Day,  my birthday, and the twins’ dedication day special (especially by helping Corinne get involved).  Mom, you  love to celebrate happy occasions and every celebration is more fun when you’re involved.   Countless meals (favorites: chicken poppyseed, quiche, salmon patties, French toast, smoothies, limeade…) You just took on the cooking of the evening meals…I never expected that!  But what a blessing.  It made me feel like a kid again (in a good way) to have mom’s cooking all the time.   Constant baked goods (“grandma’s rolls”, homemade chocolate cake, lemon cake, cookies, banana bread…)   Mom, you are such an awesome playmate for Corinne! (tea parties, play-doh sessions, dominos, playing with dolls, painting, cooking, music time, etc) Surprises for Corinne (new jeans, farm toy, etc)   Special songs for babies, and soooo much cuddle time with them!

Organized garage sale items   Built shelves with Brock   Painted dresser/shelf   Vacuumed house   Walked dogs, fed dogs   Emptied wastebaskets, took out the trash   Helped solve our plumbing crisis   Fixed stuff (stuck drawer, toilet paper holder, fixed hole in nursery wall, hole under backyard fence, etc.)   Home improvements (new laundry drying rack in garage, light in garage, mounted dust buster, mounted hooks for hanging large items in garage, video baby monitor install, etc.)    Errands (lots to Home Depot, grocery store, recycling, goodwill drop-off, even Babies R Us for breastpump supplies!)   With Corinne: Tricycle excursions Played in the fort Trips to Home Depot Kite Walks to the park (oh, what a patient grandpa you are…to walk at a toddler’s pace as she pushes her dolly stroller…)   Shuttled babies up/down stairs when it was time to feed (or whatever)   Replaced batteries in bouncy seats/swings/toys

Pictures in my mind that I never want to forget:

Dad and Corinne sitting on the floor with their backs to the couch, reading

Dad walking away with a crying baby, shushing quietly

Mom comforting Ashlyn after her first bath

Mom teaching Corinne how to drop cookies on a tray

Mom in the rocking chair with both babies asleep on her chest

Coming down the stairs and seeing each of you with a baby (I have a few great pictures of that…)

The sound of the key in the front door at 8am…and the feeling of  “Ahh…my parents are here”

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I know that if you guys weren’t here for these three months, I still would have needed to go through this challenging transition, and I would have found my way eventually…

But having you here was like going through it in a big comfy armchair, instead of a hard wooden bench. 

And I feel like your presence has sped up the learning curve.  When we made the plans for you guys to be here for this season, I thought that when it came time for you to leave, I would despair, feeling “I can’t do it without them”…but it’s the opposite.  I feel like I CAN do it.  You’ve given me time to find that confidence…a confidence I didn’t have before the babies were born.

I’m also just really aware of how precious this time is. 

Someday I won’t have my parents.  And someday my children will grow up and leave the house. 

But during these 14 weeks I woke up to the smiles of both generations…the one before me and the one after me…and I LOVE being the middle branch of this particular family tree.

Thank you so much for hitting the “pause” button on your own lives to focus on mine – for putting in so much time – late nights and early mornings –  and pouring yourselves into me, so that I could pour myself into my children. 

You will be SO missed.  I LOVE YOU!

Tricia