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Tired. Messy house. Suitcases. Laundry. In-box full of stupid e-mails. Pile of actual mail. Groceries. Etc.

But, still. It was worth it. Fun with Gary, fantastic to be in Kiel again, to see friends. The beach, shopping, fabulous cuisine. Excessive use of superlatives. A wonderful week.

(And travel with my husband - I love the perks of business travel. I love flying with gold elite status. I love the nice hotels, the service he gets as a frequent traveler. I loved that the Continental woman was so nice and moved us to the exit row. It's not business class, but it's still five or six more inches of leg room. And to think - I didn't know about any of this when I married him. The stars were certainly in alignment - !)

As an added bonus, the girls spent a week with their grandparents, which I think was good for all for all of them. I asked the girls if they had fun, and they all said yes. Maddie said, "Grandma says we can go swimming at 2 p.m. Not when you're in the mood to go swimming, not earlier if you feel like it, but only at 2." Apparently she asked Grandma one day to go out earlier, and Grandma said oh, no ... it wasn't 2 yet. So Maddie asked if Grandma would watch her swim. Grandma hesitated, said w-e-l-l ... so Maddie said, that's OK, I'll wait (!)

The old folks are not so big on spontaneity.

Sylvia's comment? "Grandma likes to cook. A lot. She cooks something for dinner EVERY NIGHT."

Um. Not sure what this says about me?

Maddie said she quite likes a big dinner every night. OK, I said - I can cook more often.

Oh no, Sylvia said. It's OK, Mommy, you don't have to.

No wonder I love these girls.

We giggled a lot about the differences between parents and grandparents. The old folks were pretty lax with bedtime and computer time. Maddie said one day Grandpa actually sounded like - horrors - a parent, telling them they needed to tidy rooms if they wanted to swim or go to the movies.

I shared with the girls some memories of my parents, back in the day when they were, in fact, a lot like parents. When they raised voices. When my dad yelled. A lot. And used four-letter words with alarming frequency, not to mention volume. And you know? Now that I have children of my own, I think I understand why he was that way. And I know I inherited his temper, something I try every day to control.

Thus a week away from parenting was OK in some ways. However, I am really glad to be home with the girls.

After all, they told me today I am fun - more fun then their grandparents. High praise, indeed. But you'll not I didn't ask if I am more fun than Johnny and Barbie - I already know I'm not, so I'll just bask in the praise I'm sure of.