The crew were all on various adventures this weekend, which left me home by myself. Alone. Or, maybe not exactly alone. There was one mother-in-law, two pigs, twelve sheep, five goats, six ducks and a hundred or so chickens. But it was as close to 'alone' as I get these days, so I embraced it by doing all kinds of wild and crazy things, of course. After the kids walked in the door last night, and the dinnertime chatter finally quieted as everyone shared their tales, someone asked what I did all weekend. What exactly does a Mama do when she's home alone for a whole weekend? They were wide-eyed with anticipation. And as I told them, my weekend looked a little something like this....
Pie and tea for breakfast. Chips and lemonade for lunch. (It really is a good thing I have so many to cook for. Left to my own, this would be a slippery slope!)
Freshly painted floors, applied in three coats in ninety degree heat. Because when else is there ever a solid 48 hours when I can keep the upstairs bedrooms and hallway free from footsteps? (This project also included a wonderful not-so-quiet afternoon in which Calvin's alarm clock went off incessantly, being that I couldn't step on the paint to go turn it off. Until I remembered I could just flip the breaker. Phew!)
There were other glamorous tasks completed. Like sorting out the disaster that was our 'special things' boxes all overflowing into one big papery mess. It was a hearty, healthy purge. There is no need for my college papers anymore, there just really isn't. And why did I wait so long before burning all those old journals? I guess 'almost 40' was the right time. Letters from high school boyfriends? Nope! Ah, onto the cathartic burn pile it all went. And, though I love every single piece of art the kids have ever made, there really is no need to save every single piece of art they've ever made. After a while, it just becomes a burden, not anything precious at all. (Confession: I didn't necessarily share this last activity of mine.)
And before I knew it, knee deep in boxes I worked. Ah, so much lighter now! Our photo system got a bit of tidying too, and that felt so very good. 2016 (thus far) is in albums and ready to enjoy...
And maybe she got the vibe from afar that I had only eaten chips and pie...but a friend stopped by to say, "Hey! Weekends aren't for just working!" and thus we roamed the garden and made a slow dinner, sat at the table for hours without a single interruption or pressing need, and then turned it into a sleepover that including both giggling and knitting. Yes, yes, yes.
And of course, I made the house stinky too. Not only with my boiling ammonia/avocado mess, but with the tansy too. I had to squeeze in a little bit of dyeing you know. SO wild and crazy!
But mostly? While enjoy the silence around me and the space in which to work and think....I missed my babies, big and small.
Tonight is dinner for eight. I am so happy about that.