A Breath

For the very first time since 2005, Scott and I had the house to ourselves for 24 continuous hours (actually, 27 hours).  Last Wednesday, Grandma and Grandad took Caroline; Grandma and Pops took Ben; and the Girls Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania summer camp had Abby.  I cannot even express in words how I had longed for this break.  I love my children so very dearly, but their care is demanding and I feel exhausted beyond description at times.  Six years without an entire day off is far, far too long, even for a "job" you love.

What did we do with all our free time?  We went out to lunch and strolled around Longwood Gardens after dropping off Ben in MD.  We visited the Brandywine River Museum to see some art without having to worry about anyone making too much noise or touching something inappropriate.  Sidenote, have I ever mentioned that Abby was practically banned from Biscayne National Park when she was a toddler?

We enjoyed a quiet afternoon coffee and attempted to do the Wednesday Inquirer crossword puzzle.  I learned that my  thin grasp of pop culture has even further diminished in the past six years..... And, finally, a dinner out at a restaurant and saw a movie without paying a sitter (by the way the movie Midnight in Paris was very enjoyable and quite beautiful to watch).

After so much fun on Wednesday, we really felt like we should do at least one productive thing while the kids were gone, so we painted the ceiling in the family room.  This particular task selection may seem odd, but it is one of those things on the house "to-do" list that has been nagging  me since November 2010.  We had some ceiling lights installed and the electrician left it to us to patch the giant holes he cut into the wall and ceiling. I had more or less finished patching the holes, but the project was still unfinished.  And, since we hadn't painted the ceiling, we couldn't yet paint the walls the nice orange color I picked out, even though the paint has been sitting downstairs for 6 months. And since the wall isn't painted, we haven't been able to hang the awesome piece of metal artwork from Haiti made from a reclaimed oil drum (it's really cool). 

I can't believe how incredibly quiet our house was for those 27 hours.  Blissfully peaceful.  I also confirmed that I still enjoy hanging around with my husband, which isn't bad considering we've now known each other for 20 years.  If I'm being honest, the kids weren't gone long enough to miss, and they were sooooo wound up when they got home from grandmas' that they were able to make up for lost time pretty quickly.

Still, though, it was so very nice to stop and take a breath.