But, I'd like to rewrite or redefine it somehow to include the concept of home. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed and felt at home. We are sure that bringing Erik, myself, and Everett into the equation is quite a task. We are talkers, we create mess, we wake up in the middle of the night (Evy is working on that one, by the way), we eat your food, we create dirty laundry, we can be a bit stinky (read diaper in that), we want to use your car/flat iron/clothes/kid stuff, we want, we want, etc.
Everywhere we went, no one complained or kicked us out. Each family integrated us into their home--made us part of their routines. I am sure they are rejoicing in their newly regained freedom from us. However, we never caught on that we were a burden because of their graciousness.
In fact, one of the ways that we felt so at home is that each family anticipated our needs before we even did. I couldn't keep track of the times that someone picked up Everett when he was fussy, provided impromptu babysitting support, cleaned up who knows how many messes we made, somehow figured out something that we all wanted to eat, gave us directions before we figured out that we had forgotten how to get around, and they never muttered a word of complaint (that we heard, anyway)--they even asked how they could do more. That really makes a person feel at home. Thank you.
