Dan is on an ice fishing trip. My kids spent Friday night away at friends’ houses and didn’t return until late this afternoon. I had roughly 24 uninterrupted hours to myself. Think about that for a minute.
Let it sink in.
Can you believe it? I think that happened one other time in my mommy career. Almost 7 years ago I returned from a vacation early for work and had two or three nights to myself. That’s it for nights alone in my own home. In twelve years.
I didn’t want to spend it feeling like I should be cleaning. I worked hard to get all my cleaning caught up by Friday afternoon. At nap time on Friday the floor was scrubbed and the last of the rugs were washed and laid back down.
Kids were all gone at 4:45 on Friday. I went to the library on Thursday and checked out a couple of chick flicks and a stack of magazines. I didn’t touch either one. I planned to spend a couple of hours cleaning my office. I didn’t do that either. I watched TV, messed around on-line, watched more TV and slept. It was very quiet. I think I even got some time to slow down and think.
No one asked for food. No one argued about which TV show they should watch next. No one was mad because a sibling wouldn’t play with them. No one changed the chanel to Outdoor Network to just “quick see” what the guy is hunting for or where he’s fishing.
Lovely. It was just what I needed. And I was thrilled when my kids got back home today. I didn’t mind when they argued over choice seats in the living room for a little TV time. Having to tell them twice to wrap it up in the shower didn’t irritate me. I think my perspective is back.
In a few hours Dan will get home. I think I’ll be equally glad to see him. Maybe I’ll even switch it to the outdoor channels to see what is happening before he gets a chance to do it himself. Or maybe not…I don’t want to push it.
