I spent the day reveling in my own happiness, clicking my heels together in a somebody-pinch-me-please moment. I had been waiting, anticipating, this very moment. Finally, it was time.

My house was alive again with noise and laughter and conversation and TV and Xbox and stinky socks. My kitchen was abuzz with the hum of the dishwasher, the beep of the timer on the oven, the purr of a fully stocked refrigerator, and the opening and closing of cabinets in pursuit of the perfect snack. My laundry room was…well, it was – is – loaded. Yes, I spent a good portion of the last 48 hours literally up-to-my-elbows in laundry, the washer and dryer on overdrive, as I strive to get ahead of the never-ending piles, yet still, I am reveling.

The boys are back in town, and I could not be happier.

The past few days have been full of moments spent listening to their stories of adventures from the last semester, reminiscent of picking them up from lower school where at the end of the day they could not got the words out fast enough, recalling their busy school day, a life I wasn’t part of for eight hours each day. Now it is months at a time when I’m not with them, not a part of their lives for weeks on end, so the three of us are making up for lost time. Tumbling words, stories interrupting one another, fusing into one another, one story trying to trump the next – what occurrence was more outrageous, hysterical, news-worthy, sympathetic? Thrilled to have their time and attention once again, not wanting to interrupt for fear of scaring them away. Still reveling, and thoroughly enjoying their presence.

The boys are back in town, and I am beyond happy!

Poof! They disappear. To their rooms, to the ‘Man Cave,’ to the kitchen – once again. Poof! They are out the door for unaccounted hours reconnecting with friends and coaches and Wawa and remembering how to navigate around the neighborhood behind the wheel, all things they missed while away at college. Poof! They are back. Looking for more food, more Xbox time, more sleep. After all, it isn’t easy being them (ahem), and they’ve been deprived of sleep for so long they can’t remember the last time they slept, especially leading up to finals! So, sleep, my angels, and I will continue to revel in the peace that overtakes you as you catch up on your zzzzzs…

The boys are back in town, and my world is once more complete.

What I’ve learned since their return is that unpacking is a process and could take up until the time they are ready to return to school in August. It is purging and sorting and washing and folding. It is pausing to share where this T-shirt was collected or what that flag means in their college world. It is realizing they now own articles of clothing that I did not purchase, nor have I ever seen before. Who knew there were giant panda costumes for full grown men? How many events could be held in one semester where every time you attend, you a get a shirt emblazoned with Greek letters? Who are these foreign creatures, full of their own ideas and statements? (Cool!) It is a flashback to my end-of-semester ritual of taking over my parents’ living room with milk crates full of albums and sweaters and sorority memorabilia. It is reveling together in the memories we are making, right here, right now.

This moment in time takes my breath away as I’m in awe of the young men they have become while I wasn’t there, while I wasn’t’ watching; proud of all they have achieved and who they have become. Not on my watch, but they are ‘gettin’ it done,’ one semester at a time.

For now, the boys are back in town, and I am content.

Welcome home, sweet boys of mine!