I’m back home now! Got in at 4 AM (oy!). A bit of an adventure getting back—there was some concern that I might not have a seat on the second leg of my trip (thanks a ton for canceling my reservation, airline). (And thanks a ton for getting me on the plane anyway.)

Hayden is normally pretty excited to see anyone who comes to get him out of bed in the morning or after a nap. As in squealing, running across his crib, or being so overexcited that he can hardly move.

I had Ryan get him up and bring him in to me (still in bed) as a surprise. When I pulled the sheet off my face, I was expecting ecstatic squeals, back arching and frantic attempts to get out of his dad’s arms.

Instead, Hayden slowly smiled and leaned down for me. Ryan handed him over and I laid Hayden on my chest. He wrapped his arms around my neck and laid his head on my shoulder, stroking my arm. He didn’t say much, but laid there for a couple minutes.

And then he was over it.

He was a little frantic at nap- and bedtime, but we told him that I would be there when he woke up. By all accounts, he was very good for his caregivers while I was gone, but he was very clingy with Marty, his monkey. I didn’t notice him being overly clingy with it today. I anticipate that he’ll take a few days to recover emotionally. It’s good to have my boys back, although it’s really weird to go from hobnobbing with the “searcherati” (ie lots of the top minds in my industry) to playing with a toddler all day long.