Like a whirling dervish, Susan came and went this weekend. Our friend Emily picked her up from the airport just before midnight Friday night. The kids did their best to wait up for her. Morgan gassed out around 10:30pm. Mason made it a little longer, to around 11:15pm. By then, not even the spongiest of SpongeBob episodes could keep his eyelids open. Susan came home to a home full of sleeping children.

She also came home to a mess. The house itself actually wasn’t that bad but there were dishes piled in the sink and dirty clothes piled in the hall. Susan went right to work, scrubbing plates and washing clothes. I felt guilty about that and told her she didn’t have to spend her weekend waiting on us, but she wanted to. I think it’s one of those mother/guilt things. I get it. By Sunday all the dishes were clean, all the laundry had been done and ten more outfits (one per child per day) were set out. The house has been reset for Round II.

For the most part we had a good weekend; we had Chinese food, Mexican food (twice), and breakfast at McDonald’s at least once. The kids were glad to see Mommy and Mommy was glad to see the kids.

On a sadder note, Bailey Morgan Smith, the young Yukon girl involved in a head on collision on Route 66 last week, passed away over the weekend. She was sixteen. I never met Bailey, but I worked with her mom Brenda many years ago at Pizza Hut, and Bailey’s grandparents Jim and Linda Smith (who are also close friends with Susan’s family) have been a regular part of our Christmas gatherings for several years. Our hearts are going out to all of them right now. It is definitely one of those things that make you stop and reevaluate your life and your relationships.