In a busy world with families going in a million different directions, there are few things more satisfying than having your children under one roof.
As I write this on a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon, my second year college student is napping in her room. I blew out a candle, closed her blinds, and covered her with a soft blanket. My younger daughter, fresh from tapping with her dance school in the Raleigh Christmas Parade, is wrapped tightly in a white furry blanket napping in her own room. My husband and my dog, Dolly, are also relaxing together, dozing with the television on and throw pillows piled around them.
Flames dance across the fireplace as I stare out at the barren trees beneath a bleak, gray sky. But instead of feeling depressed by the weather, I feel cozy and lucky in the knowledge that my family is under one roof, even if its just for a few days. I know now this is what my mother felt like when I came home from college.
She would greet me at the door, arms opened wide, soft music playing from the stereo. Inside, I would find a refrigerator full of my favorite foods and my room recently cleaned with fresh, crisp sheets. She would watch me unpack with an excited look on her face, wanting to ask me a thousand questions, but holding back for fear I might get annoyed.
It is true that when children leave for college they never really come home to live with you again, but when we get a small window to borrow them from the universe for a moment, it is a moment worth recognizing. Here’s to having people you love under one roof this holiday season. Savor it, remember it, because we never know when we will all pass this way again ...
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Amanda is the mom of two, a reporter for WRAL-TV and the author of several books including some on motherhood. Find her here on Mondays.