My Day Off

Last week I may have mentioned to my mom how nice it would be to have a day by myself to do whatever – run errands, clean, sleep, catch up on phone calls and emails, etc.  She volunteered, along with my Stepdad, to watch the kids all day the next Wednesday (today) and I started my mental countdown.  I shouldn’t have to preface this, but I will…I LOVE my kids and I love being home with them.  The thought of being away from them for an extended period of time not only brings my aching memories of being in the hospital after surgery, but also just doesn’t feel right yet.  BUT…a day?  Yes, please.  I was in need of a break and some time to myself and ideally more than just a couple of hours.  I immediately started making a to-do list in my phone, knowing that I probably wouldn’t get it all done, but the thought of deleting things from the list made me giddy.  I dropped the kids off around 9:30 this morning and my mini-vacation began.

Of course I woke up this morning with an incredibly sore throat, that still hasn’t subsided, so the day looked a little different than I planned.  Maybe it was a sign to take it easier versus racing around to check off the list.  I did take it as a sign that I needed a cold beverage to start my day and soothe my throat.  The nice girls at Starbucks informed me that I could get a White Mocha Frappuccino, instead of just an iced one, so I was sold.  I had to cut out sugar the rest of the day, but that deliciousness was worth it.  I then headed back over the river to the place all moms dream about going by themselves…Target (you may have also thought bathroom, which was also nice to do solo today).  I patted myself on the back when I left with just the items on my list and made it to my next stop, the dry cleaner.  Do you know how hard it is to go into a dry cleaner when you have to get the double stroller out for all of five minutes and explain to Aiden why he has to get back into the truck so quickly?  Well, I don’t, because I’ve never done it.  This trip was long overdue…let’s just hope it doesn’t take as long to pick the clothes up!

After a mental debate over whether or not to pick something up for lunch, I decided I’d rather save the money and calories and eat something at home.  The real motivation was the leftover copycat Chipotle guacamole in the fridge…it really did taste the same!  Like the multi-tasker I am, I ate lunch while sending emails and making phone calls.  I had to make a dreaded insurance company call that lasted three times longer than it needed to.  But, it’s off the list now!  I then decided to take my own advice that I used to give my 5^th graders about homework….worst first.  You don’t like math?  Do that homework first to get it out of the way.  Naturally, I cleaned the bathroom first.  I won’t bore you with the other household chores, but there were several.  I did, however, realize I have zero clothes for summer after a dresser/closet organization session.  Add that to the new list.

After feeling pretty accomplished, around 2pm I sat down on the couch to watch awful TV (confession: I love watching America’s Next Top Model reruns) and browse the Internet.  My plans were thwarted when the Internet decided to be slow and I could no longer search for houses that I can’t afford on sibcy.com.  I felt this was another sign….take a nap!  So on this gorgeous, summer like day, I took a two-hour nap.  I won’t go on and on about how wonderful it was (but really, it was), but I will dream about it for some time to come.  I woke myself up with a long shower where I actually got to shave both legs and use real conditioner!  Crazy!  I got the rest of dinner in the oven and the troops arrived. 

I got a great report, despite little napping, and I jumped right back into mommy mode.  Not that I ever really stopped.  I’m still not feeling great, but I feel more relaxed and like my patience tank has been refilled.  The day was a good combo of productivity and relaxation and hopefully I can do it again sometime (mom – what dates work for you in June? ;)).  I hear the pool is a great place to be by yourself.