Time Spent Solo (East Pond, June 26, 2011)

I haven't seen my kids in five days, which is a record. I'm used to being around them almost 24/7.

Our household isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination; I can be Joan Crawford and my kids can be possessed Linda Blairs. There are days when I'm reaching for the Pinot Noir long before sunset...but such is life. I wouldn't trade time spent raising my kids for anything else in the world. I miss them.

When Hugh asked to take the girls to Pennsylvania for a week, I was all for it. Alex and Sage would see their grandparents, and I thought I'd take advantage of the alone time and spend my days doing Extremely Healthy and Worthwhile Things. So, last Tuesday, the kids packed their suitcases and headed south with their father.

As soon as they left, a strange feeling came over me.

Gone was the desire to do Extremely Healthy and Worthwhile Things. In its place came a great sense of lethargy. I wanted to find a couch -- immediately! -- and sink into it.

And so I did. For five whole days, from the time my kids left all the way up until this morning, I've been resting on my couch in New Hampshire.

Well, okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I've kept up with my personal daily writing quota and I've taken care of a lot of book-related business. I've also taken Max for daily walks. However, compared to what life is like when the kids are here, I've been extremely inactive.

Finally, this morning, I felt like getting off my duff and back into the woods. Instead of a 4K, I chose something laid-back; Max and I took a three mile roundtrip hike to East Pond. It was nice to get out again. Though I missed the chatter of my children, I took pleasure in watching my dog scamper along the trail.









On the way home, I saw a man standing by the side of the road, his arm outstretched, trying to give a nearby moose some trail mix. I honked the horn to startle the moose and it ran into the woods. The guy glared at me and I glared back. There wasn't anyone else around, so I didn't stop to say anything...I just drove slowly onward...don't feed the wildlife, folks!

The girls will come back soon, and I'll be glad to see them. I've no regrets spending all that time on the couch, though. After eight and a half years of constant kid-duty, it was nice to completely relax for a while.

I'm ready to have them back; the lethargy's gone, the laziness has passed. Bring on the laughter, the noise, the sibling arguments, the hiking, the homeschooling, the playdates, the classes, the messy rooms, and the driving here-there-and-yonder. Such is the life of a homeschooling hiker-mom, and I like it.