Thursday 9 February 2012

When the Cat’s Away…

by Valerie Mann

Remember when you were a kid and your parents left you at home alone? I do, and my motto was Let the Fun Begin. Important fun like staying up all night watching the shows on HBO that they never let me watch because they’d warp my brain and morals. Ha. Little did they know. Eating crap they never kept in the house, but a quick dash to the store took care of that. High on my list were Ding Dongs. My mom didn’t believe in sugar. It would warp my health. Ding Dongs took care of that in a hurry. Having friends over that they didn’t approve of. Playing my music as loud as I wanted.  I liked (and still do) loud, heavy rock music. I’ll be a rockin’ granny, let me tell you!

Fast forward to adulthood. My husband is away on business. And while I miss him, the old motto still stands. Plans must be made to assure maximum satisfaction to do things I can’t do when he’s here. But those things have changed. Here’s my grown-up list of Let the Fun Begin:

1.      Watch as many DVRd episodes of House as possible. Husband doesn’t get Dr. House. So he feels compelled to talk to me when I’m trying to appreciate the fine nuances of Gregory’s snark.

2.      Read in bed with the lights on for as long as I want. Sweet Jesus, if you can’t sleep with the light on, put a pillow over your head. It’s what I’d do.
3.      Eat crap food. Okay, so some things never change.
4.      Sleep in past the time his alarm goes off. I’ve never felt so rested.
5.      Make the kids fix their own dinner. They’re teenagers. They’ll figure it out.
6.      Rinse and Repeat

Am I getting old or what? Not a party in sight. I’m enjoying a quiet house with no loud music to interfere. I’ve been looking at quilting magazines, thinking about starting a new project. And the “crap” I’ve been eating is actually leftover spaghetti for breakfast and chips and salsa for lunch. What has happened to me??

Give me a short list of your dream “vacation” without your 
significant other having a say! One commenter will win an Amazon gift card. Leave your email address in your comment!

13 comments:

Faith Bicknell said...

I like loud music with a great bass beat too, Valerie. However, I like other genres such as classical guitar, pop, etc.

Most of the time I have the house to myself from early morning until mid-afternoon. I enjoy the quiet, too, but then I'll get in mood where I want noise. More often than not I try to find a program on TV that serves as bkgd noise and something interesting to listen to when I'm doing housework or taking a break from writing. Paranormal Science, Ancient Aliens, and other similar programs are my faves.

Food? Well, I'm not a big eater anymore, so I munch on things like grapes or apples. My main meals are breakfast and supper, and even those aren't much.

And I use a book light to read in bed. but I do enjoy watching late-night TV. Criminal Minds often has episodes late at night that I haven't seen. The hubby can sleep through just about anything.

Valerie Mann said...

I'm jealous, Faith! My husband and I both work from home, so having him go out of town is never a bad thing. We need to break from each other. Love him but need me time, too!

Faith Bicknell said...

Oh, trust me, we're the same. My hubby has this uncanny habit of ALWAYS interrupting me when I want to watch something on tv. After waiting another week to watch my fave shows when they're new seasons, I go to the bdrm so I'm left alone and it's quiet, but he follows me! He watches tv in the kitchen but will bug me about something he watched, or he'll remember something that happened at work that day... I kid not when I say sometimes I have to watch the encore episodes to catch stuff I missed due to him interrupting me. However, talk to him when he's really interested in something and boy does he get irritated.

Marci Baun said...

Well, now that I homeschool, as much as I love my daughter, it would be a few days of no responsibilities to anyone but myself. So, the ability to eat when I feel like it, sleep in or lay in bed until I want to get up, and not have to clean up after anyone, including myself.

Taryn Raye said...

Oh wow. I have my days to myself Wed-Fri, but Saturdays I always have my daughter home with me and Hubby is off work Sun-Tue, so actual me time, just for me, even overnight, would be heaven.

I hate to say it, but much as I love my husband, stepson(13) and my daughter(9), there are days that I miss being 20 and living on my own.

I guess my "Let the Fun Begin" list would include watching my favorite old movies that no one else will usually watch with me & eat popcorn, shower, nap, walk around strip-stark naked if I got a notion. Stay up all night if my mind & body would allow itself a momentary glimpse into my youth when I could stay up 24-48 hours without so much as a yawn and just keep going. I probably would blast some of my favorite music and dance around silly, and again, naked if I got a notion. Might even take a lazy bubble bath by candle light with some soothing Jim Brickman piano playing softly in the background.

It's so easy to forget those little freedoms that were once routine and taken for granted. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. ;)

tarynraye @ gmail(dot)come

Shiela Stewart said...

I was never alone. I have an older sister, and older brother and a younger sister. My older sister was not the partying kind so things were rather dull.

Flash forward to 2012: My hubby travels a lot, but again, i never have the house to myself. But i do enjoy stealing his side of the bed when my hubby is gone. :) Someday I'll be a ral girl and have some alone fun time. :)

Unknown said...

I love it when my husband goes back to Asia (bi-annually) for a 3 week holiday -- I need the time to remember I actually like him!

When I am alone I put on loud music and practise eskrima to the beat. I play music all evening and lounge around, eating fruit and salads.

And sometimes I turn everything off and just sit and meditate in the silence. I love the energy of the house when it is just me.

Anonymous said...

I would love to spend a few days by myself just to indulge in loud music, reading without interruption and sometimes just sit by a fire with a glass of wine.

Patricia
panthers.ravens@yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

Ahhh, a week without Pawn Stars, Swamp People, Pickers, American Restoration, Family Guy, or any of the other stupid shows hubby watches.

Unfortunately that is almost the only benefit. I can't sleep when he's away so I read, write or work all night because the bed is empty. I do get to watch movies and paranormal stuff that he hates though like Being Human and Lost Girl. Oh and shows with hot, brainy men - NCIS or House for example. And I never eat well except at supper when he's around. Otherwise it's marshmallows, chocolate chips, or crackers for lunch depending on what's in the pantry.

I think I'm secretly 13.

Valerie Mann said...

Becca, this is why your husband and my husband get along so well. Their absurd tastes bonded them.

I guess the general consensus is quiet time and relaxation. How we choose to do it may differ somewhat (I have no idea what eskrima is, but it sounds like ice creama, so it must be good), but it's a given we all need our "me" time!

Janice Seagraves said...

When hubby isn't here I do eat more junk food, though I think he eats his fair share of "junk food" at work.

Janice~

Jaime Samms said...

Val, Faith, my bs has this uncanny ability to just *know* when I'm about to actually close the email And Facebook and get down to serious writing. Then he just stands beside my desk till I look up. I swear.....

Welcome to the world of home school, Marci! Just keep telling yourself the rewards for both you and the kidlet are worth the Argo! They really are, I promise!

As for my let the fun begin list, the music, he, though I'd chose country, reading, he'll yes! But I'm with others who say they can't sleep when he's away. And I'd feast on chips which prolly isn't great...lol

Molly Daniels said...

Oh my god, YES! Parents leaving meant I could put my music on 'their' stereo in the family room and with the fireplace hearth as a 'stage', a candle or the handle of my SW lightsaber for a microphone, I'd rock out to my heart's content!

And last week when my hubby left overnight? Stayed out til 3am at karaoke; watched my DVR'd shows; and spent as much time on the computer as I wanted. I love these kind of mini-vacations!