I recently had a conversation with “my person” in which we were discussing our changing lives.  We seem to have more time, less friends and yet we still can’t get anything done.  It left us wondering what we currently do with the hours and the age old rhetorical question of where all the time has gone.  We have been teetering on the fence of having some of our kids fly the coop and some being at home.  We know what is on the horizon and we realize how fast it is all going.

My person was lamenting the fact that it’s almost over.  I heard nostalgia when she spoke of her sister who is in that sweet spot of just beginning the crazy with her 4 boys. My person is that mom who always had the parties and the basement full of kids.  It’s who she is. She managed to have staying power even when her kids were in high school.  My older daughter liked to be at her house and now my youngest prefers her basement over ours. Okay, it could be her handsome son or the fact that she has let them eat snickers ice cream bars for breakfast, but I think it’s more than that.

My person has built more than a great place for high schoolers to hang out.  She has made a home that is warm, inviting and 100% real.  Her kids leave their crap on the sofa and her new puppy poops on the floor.  You can find fights, tears, laughter, hugs and plenty of humility there and if you need a poster board, wrapping paper, a costume, a place to watch a movie, a cup of coffee or a shot of something stronger…you can find it at her house.

A few weeks ago, our kids went to homecoming together.  It was a fun night and while she sat in the car waiting for her son and my daughter to come out of their first high school party she called me.  These two are our last ones.  I could hear the love and sadness intermingled as she spoke about the night.  Our conversation moved in another direction; she wondered what she might do differently if she could.  She has loved every moment of raising her kids and it shows in everything she does.  I didn’t have the words the other night when we were talking, but now I do.

Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for inspiring me and for making me a better mom.  You celebrate life better than anyone I know.  You love with everything you have. You make me want to decorate for Halloween even though it’s my least favorite holiday.  I now feel like I need a skeleton who sits at my kitchen table.  Your sister is the bomb because she has been watching you do it so well for years!  Revel in that!  I know you think you are nearing the last few years of this crazy train we call fun and awesome, but it’s just the beginning of so many other amazing moments.  And I am pretty sure nobody is letting us get off this train anytime soon. Keep enjoying every moment.  Keep celebrating. Keep answering the phone when they call, keep sitting outside parties and when they are all at your house, keep an eye on my daughter.  Oh and keep your eyes on the horizon.  If you look close I am pretty sure you will see a beach and some Mai Tais.