Toilet - 3, me - 0

Add in a plunger, an hour, and A LOT of towels, and you have an idea of how part of my day has been spent. Tomorrow I get to clean the bathroom floor and possibly call maintenance to have them snake the toilet. Is that messy? Maybe I need to call maintenance first...

In other news, I had brunch with my mom today. I love that my mom and I are so close; I really do consider her my best friend.

That wasn't always the case. I won't go into details, partly because she reads my blog every day, but mostly because she was the best mom she knew how to be, and I was a hormonal, bipolar teenager.

But the last few years or so, we've really developed a tight bond. Every week, I look forward to her text saying, "Do you want to do lunch today?" Sometimes I know she's going to text me before she does. But spending a couple hours talking with her is the best part of my week.

Not that that is the only time we see each other; we live in the same apartment complex, so we do occasionally see each other more than once a week. But at least once a week, we have a solid 2 hours where it's just the two of us, talking about anything and everything.

I LOVE YOU, MOM.

Pretty soon, I am heading off to have dinner with my dad and stepmom.

My dad admits he maybe wasn't there for my brother and I as much as he could have been when we were younger. He mostly just let our mom raise us while he worked and did his Navy stuff (he was a reservist).

But ever since my parents divorced about two years ago, he has really, really put forth effort into building a relationship with me. Three years ago, I would have found it awkward for my dad to walk me down the aisle, and the first dance would have been my nightmare. But now I look forward to the day that he gets to hand me over to the man of my dreams (whomever that turns out to be); my dad has finally earned that right.

So we get together every single week for dinner, usually on Tuesday nights.

I LOVE YOU, DAD.

I really like my stepmom, although it has taken a while for me to adjust to the divorce, then my dad meeting her, and everything that followed. She is a genuinely nice person, and I appreciate that she joins my dad and I for dinner and also gives us some alone time after dinner. It's perfect, and she is wonderful, and she makes my dad very happy.

I LOVE YOU, STEPMOM.

Ok, that's enough love for everybody for right now, I need to get out the door.

Everybody, remember to appreciate the people you love. You never know when one of you will no longer be around.