...alone

Tonight, my mother-in-law came and drove her son and grandkids back home to St. Cloud for the weekend. Yep...that's right. Mommy has to stay home and work. I didn't think much of it...Mike will be going to a conference in the cities and Grandma will watch the kiddos (yay Grandma!) and I will go to work as usual...blah blah blah.... the usual drill...

It didn't sink in until they had been gone for about five seconds.

I have the house to myself. I'm alone. Alone. ALONE!!!!!

I walked through the living room, listening for the usual squeals and crunches and crashes and thuds. Nothing. Not a peep except for the occassional pant from the dog.

I went straight to the Easter basket and helped myself to a piece of Julia's candy. I ate it on the couch, in the living room. (We NEVER eat in the living room...Julia knows the rules. We had to adopt this rule to protect our poor carpet after we had kids.)

Next, I let Psymuhn walk into the dining room and I pet him. Mike really hates it when he outsteps his boundary of the kitchen/dining room doorway. Psymuhn was standing with his front legs in the dining room and his back legs in the kitchen and I wasn't yelling at him. I felt naughty. What the heck? I might as well go all-out "bad Mama." I took a stroll into the kitchen, opened up the fridge, and took a big ol' swig of milk right out of the carton. Mmmm. I haven't done that in a long time. I almost stuck my finger into the container of fruit dip...but I didn't want to take this too far just yet.

Next, I washed the dishes and swept up the kitchen floor. I decided to take the dog for a walk. Ten seconds later, I had my shoes on and Psymuhn and I left for an hour-long walk. I didn't have to put three coats, three hats, and six mittens on. I didn't have to unfold the huge stroller. I didn't have to pack a bag that included diapers, wipes, kix, a water bottle, and band-aids. All I needed was a leash! Beautiful! And the best part? When we got home, the kitchen was exactly as I had left it! No one had come by and dripped mister freezie juice all over the place. Psymuhn wasn't licking the floor around the high chair. It was after eight o'clock and nobody was melting down because it was past their bedtime.

I took another swig from the milk carton.

By now, you know where I'm going with this. Those of you who have children are smiling right now. Those of you who don't....just trust me. Kids are worth the work, but good Lord, am I glad I never think about how much work that really entails. I also know that before we had kids, I never really appreciated a few minutes alone.

I am going to sleep in the middle of the bed toinght.