Well, hello there, Friend!
How are we doing? Hope all is well and you’re enjoying the bursts of spring popping up all over the place. It’s especially heartening to see daffodils in random spots on roadsides, a patch in a park or even my own terrace. The ones on my terrace are a wonder – they lay dormant for years and we forgot all about them. Then one year, out of the blue, green shoots pooped up. Now, every February without fail, there are a bunch of daffodils happily facing the sun and making me smile each morning.
And now, we’re suddenly in March – two months of the year have gone, just like that. It has me in a bit of a quandary, feeling shame at not having achieved anything yet, while also telling myself to lighten up – it’s only two months out of twelve after all. And February doesn’t even count as a whole month anyway. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself…
Half term was fun and, you’re not gonna believe this, but a rare event occurred. No, not a solar eclipse but rather that almost extinct phenomena for mums known as ‘Me-time.’
Shocking, I know.
My friend at work regularly jets off on week-long holidays by herself, enjoying the peace that comes with quiet walks on the beach, beautiful sunsets and great food.
My week looked nothing like that and, while I’m sure one day I’ll graduate to that level, my week was actually a lot of fun!
Monday and Tuesday, I hung out with LM and LD. We watched movies, ate junk and went to bed late. Everyone was happy.
On Wednesday afternoon I got LM and LD to the train station and safely on a train. They were going to visit OM at uni for two nights. Which meant Mama here had two and a half days of no one calling my name.
It was equal parts weird, sad and lovely.
I had time to do what I wanted to do. So, I did what any sane person would do.
I cleaned.
Yep! And it was so satisfying!
In between cleaning, I met up with my sister-in-law as well as an old school-friend and had the best time eating great food and chatting the hours away.
But coming home to a pristine house? Absolute bliss.
The living room was spotless. The kitchen sink – empty and sparkling. Not a trace of dust on the floor. All of which added to my peaceful state as I got cosy on the sofa in the evenings, watching a movie of my choice with the added bonus of not having to share my chocolate.
But while I enjoyed my ‘me-time’, the house was quiet. Too quiet. And I missed the comforting feeling of my children being just next door.
Of course we messaged and talked on the phone but I missed having a squeeze, laughing together at an inside joke and generally just being nearby.
They came back on Friday night – tired, annoyed and hungry. There was a mix-up with timings for an event which meant there wasn’t enough time for them to grab dinner before getting on the train. LD, being a nine-year-old boy, voiced how terribly hungry he was on repeat. LM wasn’t feeling well so was also in a sulk. OM was fed up of listening to the moaning.
Several Mum-cuddles and lots of understanding later, they were all sent to bed with the hope of a better tomorrow.
In the morning, while they were still snoring, I went into the living room to be greeted by:
LM’s top hanging off the side of the sofa…
LD’s comic on the table…
OM’s cup in the sink even though the dishwasher was empty…
Brought back to earth with a crash then.
It was still the most rested I’ve felt in a long while so, there’s definitely something to be said for carving out time to just sit still and enjoy peaceful solitude. With or without chocolate is entirely your choice, but I highly recommend Maltesers.
Speak soon xx
You're not gonna believe this... 