As mothers, we love and adore our children. It hurts to leave them, or when they grow up and leave us. But I don’t think we realise just how much time and energy they take up until they’re not there.
This week, all my little lambs are away. One back at Uni, the other two on holiday with relatives. Dropping the youngest off with his aunt was heart-rending. I do not like to be away from him. But I figure a week away with his aunt and cousins in a sunnier and more salubrious location than Wellington in summer would be good for him. I have to go to work, so the alternative is to put him in a summer holiday programme, except my sister was very kind and offered to have him to stay.
Here he is having a whale of a time the day before I left him and drove home. Far more fun than being stuck in horrid, grey, windy Wellington, don’t you think? You can see the grin on his face from a mile off!
And this is what I was doing…
Those are the Hermoine’s Everyday Socks in Happy-go-knitty merino/silk sock base. Now finished.
Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling something wasn’t quite right. None of the normal morning noises were there to indicate that it was time to wake up! I got up disgustingly early, and spent an inordinately luxurious amount of time having breakfast and catching up on blogs/news/emails. Then I realised I did not need to rush off to the market because it was just me this week. One trip to the supermarket would be fine as I wouldn’t be needing to buy much. After a nice, long, hot shower, I decided it was time to get to things I did not normally have time for.
I cleaned out the fridge and threw away all items of furry and dubious nature. The fridge is looking disturbingly empty now. I thoroughly vacuumed the house. I started on tidying the mess that is the large boy’s room (hehe, he’s not there to stop me…). I stared unhappily out the window at the gales and mist… (no lawn mowing of the “hayfield” today). I edited a pattern. I did some tidying. I reorganised my room. I edited another pattern. I knitted a bit. I spent more time on the internet. I went to the supermarket.
I came home and was shocked and surprised to find the house exactly as I had left it. There were no toys on the floor. Nothing had moved. No crumbs had gathered on the carpet while I was out! The house felt clean.
So now it’s dinner time, and I don’t have to get up and cook dinner! I can sit here with a glass of wine and a bit of bread and dip and a few slices of cucumber and raw capsicum and call it done!
This is all very nice, but I shall be glad when the two boys get back. It would get boring after a while I think!
Sounds deliciously peaceful (says the mother of four).
Sounds blissful but i too imagine after a few days I would be missing the mob, enjoy your mumcation…..I have to wait till the boys go back to school for a bit of me time. I’m trying to be patient because I know when they do go back i will miss them.
How much do I love this post? Enjoy your quiet time
love the socks too.
I’m having a mumcation this week as well – I just need to drop the kids off at thier camp tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to it now, but will miss them as soon as they are gone!
It’s funny how that happens. Reading all the other mums’ comments to this post, I guess that’s part and parcel of being a mother! Hope you’re enjoying your mumcation.
Yes it does get boring xx
Hmm. I guess the upside is that I’ll be able to totally immerse myself in fibre arts!?
It is lovely to have time to yourself but even nicer to get back to normal.
Too true.
Sounds like you’re making the most of your “me time”
Hope you enjoy it while it lasts!
I think it would be unfair on those looking after the young man if I didn’t.
I feel the same way when my kiddies are away and the first day/night is the hardest. You deserve some alone time though so I hope you’ll live in the moment and savor the few days you have to focus on YOU!
Definitely enjoying having more concentrated knitting time (not having to get up every five minutes to deal with some request or the other!)
Staying with relatives at the beach sounds waaay more fun that going to a school holiday program in grey and rainy Wellington. I wish I had rellies living in holiday hotspots.
There is a downside. I’m beginning to feel worried he’ll want to spend ALL his holidays up there..!
It’s funny how hard it is to get things done when there aren’t other things to avoid…. like cleaning.
I think I’ll have to make myself a pair of Hermonie socks sometime soon. There is a fiber festival next month in my area, so I will find a perfect skein then.
Oooh, a fibre festival. Envy!! I hope you get yourself more than one yummy skein.
Can’t wait for my mumcation – less than two weeks!! I’m happy and sad to be sending my kids to Hawkes Bay for two weeks. Glad for a bit of kid-free time, very excited to be going to Vancouver, happy that they’ll be enjoying themselves with cousins, nanny, poppy, aunty and nana to look after them, but as much as their constant noise and messiness irritates me, I will most definitely miss them and be even more happy when I get back. Mumcations are great, aren’t they?
You’ve said it! Couldn’t agree more. We feel so guilty away from them, but I called the young man today and he was too busy having fun to spend more than a minute talking to me!! Enjoy your mumcation!
I can’t even begin to imagine
Just ENJOY!!!
What a lovely way to spend the day! The beach is lovely. You are so good to clean with a vengeance.