Munchkins

On this space, I have often talked about the little loves in my life-- the munchkins. These are the children of people I love that I have now come to love just as much (or maybe a little bit more than) their parents. Their parents range from my dearest/oldest friends to my BFF cousin and people in between.
Currently, I am living with three of my very favorite munchkins. No offense meant to the other little guys, but these three little ladies hold a super special space in my heart. I am the eldests' god-mother, the middle one and I are a lot alike, and the littlest just recently decided I might be okay(victory!). As I mentioned when I wrote about moving in, I was excited to experience life in their midst and get to know them even more. I have been more in and out than expected, but the time I have had has been precious. I have seen the good, the bad, and some of the ugly (nighttime poops come to mind!). And I am totally in love with them. More than ever!
When I shared with people that I would be moving to another city, people asked how I would live without them nearby. My answer was always the same-- "It's fine. We lived a apart for a really long time, we made time for one another". Yeah. That's completely impossible. After living with these little ladies (and their mom and dad), I have determined there is NO WAY I can go for too long without seeing them and hugging them or laughing with them. Skype will tide us over between visits, but it won't quite ever be the same as waking up to the stomping, running, and laughter. I will be forever grateful to them for inviting me into their world and for sharing so much with me. It has been a truly precious few weeks (ones I will treasure forever).
But in two weeks I will move away from them and to my new city.
Funny enough their cousins (my cousin's bro and his fam) will be my temporary home when I get to Chicago-land. They also have two little girls, whom I only just started to know this summer while on vacation. Just like before I moved into my current abode, I am excited to get to know them a little bit better and become good pals with them too. As I was finalizing plans with their momma, she let me know they are already planning my welcome home baked good and what toys we are going to play with.
I told her, they'll be a great transition so I don't go "cold turkey" from munchkin-land. She laughed. But I am serious.
As I started to look for a new apartment, my eyes got misty thinking about how quiet it will all be. I will relish sleeping in and walking out the door with no worries, but really I will miss being asked to read a book before we start the day, and cuddles before I am quite ready to leave bed. Or talking about friends, or laughing about really nothing, but having it be the best part of the day.
In a time that could be overwhelming and maddening and filled worry, my days are highlighted with sticky high fives, and toothy kisses and snacktimes and laughing.
I will cherish the little moments over the next few weeks (in this home and my next) where my life will be filled with munchkins.
I feel like instead of recalling this time as trying and uneasy, I will look back fondly on the months and weeks I got to spend with so many of my munchkins.