Solitude

 The house is quiet as I sit in my bed with my comfiest clothes on. The blankets drawn up around me, the windows open, and the sky outside a deep gray. There is no rain in the forecast, but by the way these clouds are hovering over the area I would not be surprised if there was some sort of precipitation here today. 

 In the meantime, the birds oblivious to the coming weather, or perhaps very much aware of it, are singing sweetly getting ready to welcome back spring. While we are fortunate enough to hear their peeps and chirps year-round, it seems their numbers are increasing, creating a small symphony of sounds all of which are welcoming to take in. 

My Velcro puppy (Miles) is next to me while my protector (Max) is laying on his dog bed not ten feet from where I sit. Moose is snuggled up on Sarah's pillow in her room; he has no need for me right now, so I won't be seeing him for a while. And that is it. Just me and my four-legged companions for the next three and three-quarter days. Bobby is on his way to Boston for business, Andy is in Ohio working, Joshua is at Belmont, Sarah and Elizabeth are at UNCG. They are all off doing their own things which allows me the gift of spending the next few days in solitude. 

If given the choice to go on a trip by myself or to stay home by myself, I would pick the latter every single time. There is something so refreshing to me to be able to stay in my home all alone. I love having the freedom to spend all of my hours exactly as I want without having to worry about anyone else. I can either work on projects around the house - or not. I can read a book - or not. I can make my own food  - or not. I can do whatever I want for as long (or as little) as I want to, and I don't have to explain my decisions to anyone. I am accountable to no one but myself these next few days - and the thought of that is g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s. 

Don't get me wrong - I love my family, deeply. And I love serving them as a homemaker and homeschooling mama, but that doesn't mean that I don't need to recharge. Because I absolutely do, and my favorite way to do so is to have some time at my house all alone. This is luxury that I do not take for granted and is such a treat for me. I look forward to these times so much. 

I haven't decided what I would like to this week in terms of goals or accomplishments. I have decided to play that all by ear. What I did decide, though, is that I will not be using the television or social media while everyone is gone. I find that those two mediums of entertainment waste my life when I use them in large doses. If I allowed myself, I could easily spend days watching junk shows or endlessly immerse myself in the land of Instagram. I find that I am much happier when I either abstain from both of those things or limit them severely. 

So, I'll spend my days doing other things that fill me up in a positive way. And I will enjoy every single minute of it.