Triple Blessing

In the space of a week recently, I had the pleasure of visiting 3 of my daughters. A real triple blessing for me!!! I’m busy, but so are they, and it’s hard for them to get away from their jobs, lives, and commitments, so roughly once every 3 to 6 weeks, I try to visit them in their cities. I wish they would/could come home more often, and more than that I wish we lived in the same city. I hate the fact that I brought them up in a small city where it’s hard for them to find work in their fields, so they have moved on to greener pastures. I realized the other day that I did the same thing to my mother (and she complained about it regularly. I try not to (complain about it too much), but I really wish we still lived in the same town, and they could find work there). I still live in the same city as my oldest and youngest daughters, which is a great blessing for me. But the three in the middle have moved away. (And yes, how I wish I could turn the clock back and start all over again. Like a movie or book you love, you hate to see it end. I hate the fact that they will never live at home again, with years ahead of us, to share days and nights and breakfasts and dinners. What sweet times those were!!)

I always enjoy my visits with them, but like everything else in life, some visits are better than others. If they’re too busy with their ‘real’ lives, lots of work and things they have to do, or if I am, or just too tired or stressed, visiting someone you love in another city can be a challenge. They have to fit you into their schedule, and you have to adjust to their lives. My kids are really good about making time for me, and these 3 quick visits were just perfect in every way. The fates were on our side. After finishing a book, and dealing with everything on my plate, I rushed down to LA to see my daughter Sam. The weather was gorgeous, about 85 for a whole long weekend, instant summer. And Sam was wonderful about clearing her schedule for me as soon as she finished work on Friday. We shopped and hung out, and talked and hugged and cuddled, had 3 meals a day together, laughed a lot, and had a terrific time for a whole long weekend. And I even got a bonus. I stay at a hotel across the street from where she lives, and we run back and forth between her apartment and my hotel, which is easy and fun. She finds cute restaurants to take me, we spruce up her apartment when it needs it, and her very nice boyfriend and friends often join us for a meal. And this time, her boyfriend was away on business, so we got lots of ‘girl time’. The ‘bonus’ was that since he was away, late into the second evening of my stay, she decided that she was uneasy staying alone at her apartment—-so she invited me to spend the night. Let me tell you, I hopped across the street in record time, in answer to her invitation. And it was soooooo much fun!!! Two nights of slumber party. (The next morning, early, I went back to my hotel in the same clothes as the night before, and was very amused to realize that I looked like I was doing ‘the walk of shame’, after a night with my daughter!!). We had a ball, and I was sooooo sad to leave after the weekend. I hated to leave, and the ache of living in separate cities really hit me hard again. How I wish we lived in the same town!!! But I’m not likely to move to LA, and there are no interesting jobs for her in fashion in San Francisco. So we’ll have to make do with our visits, long weekends, and slumber parties. I had such a great time with her!!!

Four days later, I headed for New York, on my way to Paris, and had the huge treat of 2 days with my daughter Victoria, who also cleared her schedule to spend time with me. We sat cozily in my hotel, ordered room service, relaxed and talked and watched TV, went shopping, went out to dinner, went to the movies, and just reveled in being together. (All my kids are sooooo good to me!!) We spent time alone and with her also very nice boyfriend. And just as I had in LA with Sam, I had a really terrific time with Victoria. It was just perfect. (The visit of course also includes their respective dogs, who are very much part of their lives. And in LA, I also had the pleasure of dinner with one of my sons and his lovely wife. But her parents were in town too, so my son was busy with his in laws, and I concentrated my time in LA on girl time with Sam). Just as I had been in LA, I was soooo sad to leave Victoria, but we had a really great two days, and I am always sad to leave them.

After my two days with Victoria, I flew to Paris, where Vanessa was working for a week. Her week of work was just ending as I arrived. I arrived on Sunday morning, so we had a whole day to be lazy, hang out, catch up, talk, laugh, have lunch and dinner, and just be together doing nothing special. We stayed home all day and didn’t even go out. And then had Monday to play a little between her meetings. Unfortunately, she had to leave for Italy for work, but I was so grateful for the day and a half that I had with her. It was yet another perfect visit, staying together in the apartment, and soaking up the joy of being together. My third big blessing of the week, a visit with yet another of my daughters, and some real quality time together, which is always special.

As I’ve said before, even with kids you love and who are great people, there can be bumpy times, when you don’t agree about something, or everyone is stressed out and pulled in different directions. But that wasn’t the case this time. I had three absolutely perfect visits with these 3 wonderful girls whom I love so much. Each visit was special, each one was a special moment—–and seeing 3 of them in one week, spread over 6,000 miles—–What a huge blessing for me!!! Three of them. I was soooo happy and so grateful!!! It really was a triple blessing!!!