The Monday morning let down...

Well, the weekend has come and gone and I'm experiencing something that I wish I could most every Monday morning--pangs of regret that I have to jump back into my reality for another week. But, I honestly can't complain. I had a FANTASTIC weekend!

After hours of frantic cooking, cleaning, washing and a few sweat-ridden anxiety attacks, I did in fact finally manage to get my act together. I packed the car and left for my scrapbooking retreat with my beloved Margarita Mamas. (For new readers, this is a group of pals of mine who chose to ditch our Moms' group cattiness in favor of friendship, fun, and that frozen concoction that helps us hang on.

So, six friends descended upon a small cabin just a few miles away from our homes. We faced horrible weather on our route, my car sliding all over the rain-slicked dirt road that lead me to my weekend of mom freedom. Once we'd all arrived and carried in the million loads of scrapbooking what-not, food, and essentials, we settled in to one great weekend.

Much more important than the scrapbook pages I caught up on, was the catching up with these wonderful ladies and hearing all about their lives. It is amazing how well our little group gets along when you consider how different we all are. But, from impending weight loss surgery to Weight Watchers struggles, from silly stories to sex talks, from laughs over great movies to moments of honesty that brought tears to our eyes, we covered every base. I left my weekend compadres very tired after two nights of staying up very late, but also quite sure that I've made friends to last a lifetime.

But, that wasn't the end of my weekend story. You see, I arrived home to an empty house, while the husband and kids were at my nephew's birthday festivities. I hopped out of the car, prepared to slide right in to a nice nap in my nice quite house, and then I saw it.

That's right, my three darlings has surprised me with fresh cut flowers, a silly balloon, a wonderful welcome note home from my six-year-old, two cards and some candy. Oh, and did I fail to mention the spotlessly clean home? Someone must have let my husband know the way to a woman's heart while I was away. (Hint: it's not the chocolate...it's a clean sink and floors, my dear!)

My evening ended with another romantic surprise from my husband, who drew me a bubble bath complete with candles, a few roses and raspberries and strawberries to boot. I could not have asked for a better welcome home than this.

My husband and I have had a rough year with many hurdles that we are trying to get past. He is going to be out of town on business on actual Valentine's Day, which is a first for us. So, this early Valentine's surprise really meant a lot. However, it sure made it hard to wake up and embrace the reality of another damn Monday...