Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Silence really is Golden

Yesterday I had the day off for MLK day, and miraculously it was the day that Husband started work and Miss D started preschool. I got up early to help get Miss D out of the door but as of 7:30 they were out the door and I found myself with 5 glorious hours all alone in the house.

The first thing I did was went back to sleep.

Ohhhhhh yeeessssss. I woke up around a quarter to nine. (Basically when Miss D usually gets up anyway) But it was MY decision to wake up at that time which makes it different. I went downstairs and enjoyed a DVR'd episode of America's Next Top Model (a recent trash-tv addiction of mine) with my coffee.

I am not generally a person that likes to spend a lot of time alone. I grew up with a sizable family. I always had roommates before I moved in with Husband-to-be. Before, when left with more than a couple of hours to myself my thoughts would turn to the morose. I am the sort of person that always has to have the radio or television on to keep me company, so I don't start getting depressed.

It has been nearly 3 years since I have been totally alone in my own home. The DVR episode ended. Nothing else came on. And I cleaned my kitchen in absolute quiet. For most of it I wasn't thinking about anything except the immediate task at hand. Scrubbing down the oven. Wiping off the counter-tops. Listening to the sounds of the house. The heat kicking on and off. The burble of the humidifier. The occasional blast of music from a passing car or the "beep beep beep" of a truck backing up somewhere. I was very peaceful. And I hate cleaning! But somehow this was what I needed at this moment i guess.

When I was done I had a shower and thought about all the many tasks i could start in the hour I had remaining. But in the end I sat back on the couch and opened up another episode of ANTM.

Shortly, the troops arrived home and everyone had a great first day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad Miss D had a good first day of preschool and J at work. So glad you enjoyed some quiet time. There hasn't been any quiet time here for the past week and I miss it. Today C has her first day of her new school so should be better. I like quiet!

Lakeview Coffee Joe said...

Sometimes being alone like that is nice and sometimes it freaks me out. Depends on what the "norm" has been. Sounds like you had a great day though!!

alexis said...

how did we end up so opposite stef? I too treasure my quiet time.

But it is really heartwarming to know everyone is doing well at their new things. I miss talking with you sweets!