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                                                                 Full House

Be careful what you wish for, or ask for, or hope for.   You can get it; ALL of it.  I just did; and, my life has been drastically altered for the foreseeable future.  My daughter finally left her soon-to-be-ex  and moved in, lock, stock and barrel.  I have gone from living alone for decades, to sharing my home with my daughter, my six and four-year-old grandsons and 4 house dogs ( in addition to my 2 Shelties I’ve added 1 miniature Beagle puppy and a very old miniature Dachshund).  Chaos reigns!

I’ve been praying my daughter would extract herself and the boys from the dysfunctional marriage for years.  Due to the husband’s addictions and inability to function in any worthwhile capacity the union was doomed from day one.  I knew it; all other family members knew it; her friends knew it.  My daughter was the only person who chose to ignore all the warning signs.  The husband told everyone who would listen, before the marriage and after, that he didn’t want to grow up, take on the responsibility of a family or move his mental or emotional focus beyond the ‘good old party days of college’.  This was from a man who was about to turn 30.  He even told ME!  I guess he either neglected to tell my daughter or she conveniently didn’t listen.

Anyway, six years and two kids later, enough is enough.  My daughter is tired of working long hours with him hardly working at all.  She’s tired of never having anything and always playing catch-up.  She’s tired of the drugs and alcohol, the endless broken promises.  She wants better for herself and her boys.

Moving in here was my idea.  It was practical and made sense economically.  Since I’m the boys’ primary caretaker, chauffeur and whip-cracker it makes life easier and less complicated.  My daughter will contribute to the household expenses and still be able to build up her own future nest egg.  In the meantime, the boys will have the love, attention and support of the two constant and most important adults in their lives.  They have always had their own room here, and spent as much, if not more, time in my home than any of the three places their parents have lived.  To them, having Mama, Smokey and Maxx (the Beagle and Dachshund) join the fray was just icing on the cake.  As Connor put it, “Now we’re just a big old happy family!”

I’ve been doing the Clean-out-toss-out-move-around Shuffle for the last couple of weeks.  As an unabashed neatnik, I panicked at the prospect of crowded and cluttered rooms, of mess (the dogs) and madness (mine).  I had actual nightmares of being buried alive under a mountain of dogs, kids and toys.  It wasn’t pretty.

Guess what?  Things are actually coming together, gelling without clutter, with a semblance of the old order.  Baby gates that had been retired to the attic were called into service again as dog barriers.  Chaos reigns; but, so does laughter.  Gone are the days of sleeping past 6 am.  Weekends oft dance in my dreams like sugar plums of the past.  My loads of laundry have more than doubled, daily.  I’ve become chief cook and bottle washer again; and, there is never a dull, and rarely an unoccupied moment. 

Life is good; life is rich; life is full.  With a little luck, quiet time is between 10 pm and 6 am.  The other 16 hours are full of laughter, yelling, crying, playing and sharing our days and lives.  My house is a home full of love and happiness.