Henry

Henry came back to Richmond on Sunday. He had been living with my parents in the country for the past (almost) six months. Due to restrictions during my pregnancy with Nan and Brandon’s busy work schedule – it seemed like the right decision for Henry. Henry loves it at my parents mostly because he can run free with his best friend, Bob. Knowing how much he loves Mt. Sidney, my parents, and Bob – I would have probably let him stay… but Brandon was anxious to get him back to Richmond. Given that I am home all day in a 1400 square foot house with a seven week old and a two year old – I didn’t really see the upside to adding a 120 pound dog to the mix…. But nevertheless Henry came back. This week has been full – a nice way to put it – with two year old tantrums and Nan not sleeping well at night. The days have been long and I have been exhausted. Today, Berkley was having a meltdown before school because he wanted me to sit with him and watch an Olivia… but I had to get dressed and get us ready for school (i.e. throw on a on pair of sweats and a t-shirt that didn’t smell and put some goldfish in a container)… I was literally going to be preoccupied for 2-3 minutes. Berkley threw himself on the floor screaming, “you sit down mommy.” Usually I have (what I think is) incredible patience, but this morning (mostly because I was up all night with Nan) I didn’t. I decided to ignore the fit and continue getting dressed. Berkley, realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere, started screaming at the cars outside to stop passing our house and, “making that noise.” He looked at me like – mommy how dare that truck make such a loud noise as it passes our house. You get it. It was chaos. Berks pulled it together by the time we arrived at school and ran into school with a smile - happy to see his friends. Finally – Nan and I had a minute to ourselves before we needed to grab Berks – but my dear friend Henry was looking at me for some exercise and yep – out comes the double stroller and we take Henry on the 5 miles walk we have done for years. It was during that walk that I realized why Henry is so good for me. He gets me outside in whatever elements the day brings and encourages me to exercise. No matter what happens on the walk (if we lose a toy, the kids are screaming, or we get rained on) whenever we get back home - I am a happier person and therefore, a better mom. I forgot how much I missed him and our daily walks together. Thank you, Henry, for your companionship and for allowing me to find time everyday to get out and stretch my legs.