Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Home Alone

My entire family (husband and children) was gone over the Memorial Day Weekend visiting family.  They left on Friday morning and Erik returned on Tuesday and I went to get the kids on Friday.  I have to be honest, I was less than thrilled about the time alone and felt sorry for myself.  I was positive this would be the worst five days and time would go so slow.  I tried to line up outings with friends and came up with a huge list to make sure the time would go by quickly.

The first day I worked in the morning and a friend, who I hadn't seen for 9 months, came by for a visit.  I was supposed to go out that evening to downtown Greeley but found myself exhausted and canceled the plans.  On Saturday morning, I still was feeling quite sorry for myself but after a great run with friends and coffee, I was starting to feel a little better about the situation.  I began my deep cleaning of the house that morning and took a break to meet with another friend for a couple of hours.  I noticed as the day progressed that the silence in the house was very welcoming.  I could play whatever music I wanted, I could watch what I liked on TV (Hannah, my youngest, generally controls the remote!) and once I had a room clean I did not have to worry about anybody messing it up right away!  I also got to eat when I wanted to and what I wanted and did not have anyone asking, "When are we going to eat? What's for dinner?"
After church on Sunday, I went on a 2 hour bike ride without having anyone ask, "Can we turn around? I am tired!"  By Sunday night, I no longer needed the radio or television to fill the silence.  My plans for the evening fell through but I found myself relieved to have the time alone.  Monday, I forgot my to do list and just spent the day relaxing and reading a book.  I could even complete an entire chapter without interruption!

In the end, I learned that some alone time is good for everyone.  It allowed me time to actually think without a bunch of background noise.  When the kids return, I know they will have a deeper appreciation of me as their Mom and I will be much more tolerable of the noise (even during a 13 hour drive home).  But it also reminded me that before long, the noise will disappear and be replaced with silence.

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