All by Myself

Do you know that song? Celine's version is especially wonderful for singing along with when you're alone in the car OR when you're riding with your college roommates who can sing equally as loud as you (especially if one of you just went through a bad break-up - whew, that's some powerful singin'!) ... turn it up as high as your speakers can stand it.
Okay, back to what this post is really about. John goes out of town one weekend a month for his Reserve duty. We've tried to make it a family affair, but have you ever tried to sleep in one room with a 6 year old (ok, he's not really the problem at all) or a 2 year old who is used to sleeping in her own room? And IF you get any sleep, have you ever tried to keep a 6 and 2 year old asleep while their daddy gets up @ 5 am to get ready for the day? And if you get them to sleep past 6 am, have you ever tried to keep a 6 and 2 year old entertained for two days in one room with minimal toys and coloring space? Let's just say by the end of Sunday, it makes for one grumpy mama! SO, we've resigned ourselves to spending that one weekend a month apart. The kids and I usually plan something fun on Saturday and I have a friend over to scrapbook one night after the kids are in bed - it's not so bad and we're thankful for all of the opportunities John's part time job affords us. Win-win, right!?! Well, this last weekend was EVEN better! Some of our friends, more like family, kept Will and Kate and I got to spend the weekend with John. We try to plan time away at least once or twice a year, and it's always so refreshing and fun ... but this time I was going to have a lot of time ALL BY MYSELF! It's been so long since I've had that much time to myself that I almost had to make a schedule, BUT I recovered and gave myself permission to just "go with the flow." So, what does a mom of 2 young kids do when she's all by herself? Sleep in - until 7:30. Lay in bed for 15 minutes wide awake because no one is asking you for breakfast. Take a long shower, no one's asking how to find their favorite cartoon channel. Eat breakfast. That's unusual! Someone else even cooked it and cleaned it up, oh my goodness!!! This is where it gets really good ... after breakfast, I went back to the room and turned on HGTV and watched it for 3 hours straight while I worked on my scrapbook (still working on 2009 by the way!). They have some great shows on nowadays! John picked me up for lunch and we talked about whatever we wanted to and didn't cut anyone's meat/pizza/crusts off. After lunch, John headed back to work. I was feeling a little bit guilty at this point. My friend was at home having to feed 5 kids and get 2 down for a nap. John was working on the flight line in 98 degrees. Then I got a text from John - "I hope you enjoy every minute doing whatever you want. Love you." Then a text from my friend with a pic of Will having a blast on their slip and slide. (No need to feel guilty about leaving Will - he definitely won't want to come home!) So, I did what any girl in my shoes would do. I managed to find an incredible outdoor shopping center and I went in every single store. I took my time examining each rack and walking every aisle. No one was in my shopping cart screaming to get out. No one was asking for everything they saw. It was glorious. I even found myself playing peek-a-boo with a little boy who was done shopping, but his mama was not. She smiled at me and said "Thanks - it's been a long day." I know, I thought to myself. That night we went to dinner with some of John's friends and saw a late movie. Sunday was a repeat minus the shopping. Then I drove home - all by myself - in a mini-van with the music as loud as the speakers could stand it, singing all the way. Too bad I didn't have Celine with me.