Team TEAM

When the boys moved out a couple of years ago, it was a big adjustment for our family.  Well, a big adjustment for ME.  T didn’t seem too troubled.  The girls didn’t miss their brothers too much.  I’m sure on some level they did, but on a daily basis, the girls were pretty pleased.  One Sunday, Lola moved out of their shared “girls room” and set up her own room in her recently vacated brothers’ room.   We all thought that she had been upstairs playing, but she had moved all of her belongings into the boys’ room declaring that she wasn’t leaving.  🙂  We all admired her 8-year-old determination, and the boys’ room has now become Lola’s room.  The boys have been more than willing to sleep on the trundle bed in the corner on their occasional visits.

As the months, and now years have passed, the dynamics in our household have changed.  For the first time, the women outnumber the men.  Our old gray cat has been joined by a busy, little puppy.  T has been more than tolerant of the changes.  In fact, he has thrived on them.  He likes being the lone man of the house.  He has accepted a puppy that was thrust into his life even as he proclaimed, “No more pets!”  The girls and I have smiled as we’ve watched Boo the Puppy charm his way into T’s heart.

We’ve even come up with a name for this new family in our home.  TEAM.  Together Everyone Achieves More.  It began as a joke on night at the dinner table, but it stuck.  Team TEAM, that’s what we call ourselves.  What does Team TEAM mean to us?  It means a changed household.  Our family that has gone through adjustment, change, and loss, but in the end has created a new dynamic worthy of celebration.

Our son Andrew was home for a visit for several days this week.  I LOVED having him back home, and we all had a great time.  He was a visitor in our house, though.  We stayed up late, had big meals, and talked so much.  We packed in as much time together as we could manage each day.  When he caught the train this evening, we were all smiles.  We’d had a good time, but we were all exhausted and ready to get back to our regular routines.  He was ready to go home, and we were ready for our lives to settle back into our new normal routine.  As T and I drove home from the train station, he said, “I’m ready for some TEAM time.”  The girls greeted us in the kitchen when we returned.  They were smiling and held out their arms for a hug, a TEAM hug.