Alone

10 things I love (people don't count):

1. Masterpiece Theatre
2. Coffee
3. When some weird place on my body, like my breastbone, pops
4. Showering alone
5. Silence
6. Completing a task without being interrupted
7. Eating a meal without having someone take food off my plate
8. Going to the bathroom alone
9. Listening to NPR and not Kidz Bop
10. Silence (so nice, I put it twice)

It was a long ass Christmas break, folks. The slight disappointment I felt sending Katie and Julia to school on Monday was far outweighed by the promise of an hour to myself.

Because if all the stars align correctly, Henry will take a nap while the girls are gone and I have approximately 60 minutes to do...anything. Blissfully alone. I adore my kids, I love that they are nutballs and loud and fun and busy. But I find that if I don't have just a little bit of time to myself everyday, I want to lock them all in a closet.

After two weeks of a chocolate and candy fueled overindulgence of epic proportions, I'm not sure who's behavior was worse - theirs or mine.

North Carolina schools are adding five days to the school year in the fall, and in some counties they’re taking those days out of Christmas break. My initial reaction was disappointment, quickly followed by, oh, that might not be so bad. I know that in that long February-March stretch without a break, I will be longing for days without homework and activities and lunches and morning drama. But right now, I’m going to enjoy being – Alone.