A mommy and Eli weekend!

You know that commercial from a few years back, where the grandparents come to see their grandkids and the parents run out of the house for a weekend away...as they drive away, the grandparents are chasing them down the street, yelling, "Don't leave us with the babies!"  Well...that is sort of how I felt Saturday morning as TJ drove away with Trip and Mady.  "Don't leave me with the Eli!"  It's funny how the thought of a weekend alone with just one child can bring about such mixed emotions: sadness at missing the other kids and TJ, excitement over a quieter house and some alone time at night, fear that Eli will have a BAD weekend and I will be miserable, hopefulness that we will have some good bonding time alone.  All of these thoughts and feelings are swimming around in my head as I wave goodbye to the other 3 members of our family!  They are off to a Cub Scout weekend at Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.  I know they will have a great time, but I'm not so sure about me and Eli.  What is it about the prospect of 36 hours alone with my 5 year old son that is SO intimidating?!  Well, as most of you know, there are lots of reasons to feel this concern, but none of which are worth getting into right now.  :-) 

I'd been giving myself pep talks all week long, knowing this was coming up!  "You can do this!"  "He's only 5, don't let him intimidate you!"  "It's only one night alone, how hard can it be?!"  "You've done this before, you can do it again."  And, most importantly, "God, give me patience to love him and enjoy my time with him, no matter how it goes." 

God really is SO good.  Was our weekend perfect?  NO!  Did Eli have his normal, insane fits?  YES!  Was I still able to love him and enjoy my time with him?  ABSOLUTELY! 

The best part of our weekend, was without a doubt, getting to watch him play in his first real soccer game!  He barely made any contact with the ball, but he smiled the entire game.  What a joy to get to see that smile!  To know that even though he doesn't always express his happiness to us, he can't hide it when he is running around outside, playing with other kids, doing what "normal" 5 year olds do!  Some of the other things that made him smile this weekend were beating me at Chutes and Ladders, picking out Batman cereal at the grocery store, watching the Minions movie with just me, choosing to have dinner at Chick-fil-a and getting an ice cream cone, and even playing outside with me.  Oh, that smile, it can melt me heart, especially when I can see how impossible it is for him to hide it!  We are seeing that smile more and more with each day he is with us.  It becomes harder and harder for him to hide it.  He is letting go and finding joy in his life!  And, he even had a fun weekend with just me.  Although, I'm sure if you asked him, he wouldn't tell you that.  :-)