Resuscitation

In a few hours I’m leaving for Women’s Conference. And it’s a good thing. My low battery light has been blinking for days. I need to be recharged by the likes of Sheri Dew and Julie Beck. I need to spend four days laughing with my sisters. I need to be ensconced in maternal love…I’m going with both my mother-in-law and my mom.

As a big bonus, we’re having a baby shower for my sister-in-law Jennifer tonight. I’ll get to spend some time with the great girls my brothers married. My sweet cousin Hannah will be there too. I’ll get to meet her twin babies and also my newest niece, Olivia. (I come from a family where you can’t have too many Olivias.) It just keeps getting better and better.

I don’t know what I’m looking forward to most about Women’s Conference. Reading for two straight hours on the flight? Being in Provo and thinking fondly about my BYU years and wondering why they let twelve year olds go to school there now? (I didn’t possibly look that young when I was a student!) It could be my mom taking us all to the Hale Theater for a play then to Jamba Juice afterward. Maybe it’s hearing the great speakers share their lives and experiences, being reminded of what’s important. Being recharged.

This morning I woke with a start to Mark screaming. I shot out of bed and into his room, my heart racing. He seemed OK, lying in bed, not bleeding. I asked him what was wrong and he looked sheepish. I think he was screaming for his brother’s and sister’s benefit, not mine. He said simply, “I’m alone and I don’t want to be.” Then he scooted over in his twin bed and patted the space next to him. Since my head was still reeling from my abrupt awakening, I obliged him and crawled into bed. He snuggled next to me and said, “If I had other moms, you would still be my favorite.”

Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded why I do what I do and who I do it for.

I’m still going to Women’s Conference though. Let Mark scare the life out of Adam for awhile.