Mom & Ava Adventures

This evening kicked off yet another dance competition weekend. This one is being held just outside of Baltimore. Ava's dances start early in the morning, so to save myself some time and stress the two of us are staying in a hotel this evening near the venue. This was not a very easy decision for me. Since Ben is not here I was trying to figure out how I could work getting Ava ready for her dances with Jocelyn and Molly with us. In the end I realized it would be really hard on me and not much fun for the girls. So I called Miss Bev and asked her to rescue me one more time. She came and stayed at my house with the younger two so I could focus on Ava tomorrow morning.

Today was special in two ways. First, even though we didn't get to the hotel until 7:30pm, Ava and I got some one-on-one time that we haven't had in a very long time. We watched some show on the Disney channel, ate almost an entire bag of Goldfish in one sitting, and were just silly as can be, laughing at each other. It was great fun spending the evening just focusing on Ava. She was my first best friend/daughter, and I hope to have many more special times like this in the years to come.

On the other side, I came to appreciate Bev in a whole new way through this experience. Towards the end of the night I saw she had posted this on Facebook: "spent a wonderful evening with two of the sweetest girls on earth. Crayons, play dough, mac 'n cheese, and tons of Mardi Gras beads. The love, hugs, and snuggles I get from Jocie make every visit more than worth the drive up 95; but now that Molly is actually a walking, talking little person, I can think of few sounds more precious than her little voice calling, "Miss Bev!" from across the house, with the exception of the, "I love you too!" that I got a couple times. ♥" Reading this made me realize that I am not just leaving my kids with a babysitter. I left my girls with someone who LOVES them and cherishes them as much as I do. I have never left my kids with anyone who I was not confident could take care of them. But it made me feel so blessed to have this person who will not just fill my girls' physical needs but their emotional ones as well. Knowing this allowed me to let go of any worry or stress I was holding onto concerning Jocie and Molly and put all my attention on Ava. That was such a gift. I will never be able to adequately repay Bev for what she gives to our family, but I am so thankful to have her in our lives.