Good Timing

When I wrote this post about the sameness and routine of my children's lives a few days ago, it had temporarily slipped my mind that they were actually going to be having an adventure yesterday: they went into the nearest big city with their father and grandmother to see the holiday lights show.  This involves taking the train to and from the city, eating lunch out, seeing all the holiday decorations and the department store windows...it is an annual pilgrimage and they always come back tired but happy.

And for me, it was a day of peace and quiet...the dog and I went for a lovely brisk walk, and then I ran some errands.  Yes, I know that I should have been curled up on the sofa with a book--I am so bad at just sitting down and relaxing; I think I need professional help--but I got a lot done,  and it was all stuff that was much easier to do without small fry along for the ride.  There was so much cleaning and laundry and tidying that I could have done as well, so much putting-away of decorations that still needs doing even now, but at least I did give myself permission to ignore all that at the time and it was a beautiful thing.

The children and Himself return to their usual pursuits on Wednesday, and all will be quiet at home during the day again.  Perhaps I will take a day or two (at least during school hours!) as my vacation then.  I will take deep breaths and relax over my morning coffee and try to get out of my own head for a while.  It's crowded in here!