Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Home Alone


I'm home alone at the moment - I love it. I love being with the family of course , the two are not mutually exclusive!

The chance to finish thoughts and plans without being interrupted. The chance to do a few more dishes and not see any created; to mop a floor and it dry before being walked on; to read a few more pages; jot down some  plans; order something we need; declutter without being 'sprung'; to add finishing touches to rooms or surfaces; to write letters and cards...

To just be.

We try and make it a weekly event around here. Usually on a Saturday, Pete will take the 3 children swimming. Easter Saturday ended up being too busy for this so we deferred it to the next day, and the next and then the next - and finally they are off! I suspect this is my last 'home alone' period that I can count on being a couple of hours long. Once bubs is born, home alone will consist of Pete taking the kids to the park and bubs in the pram, in between feeds... we live near a GREAT park thankfully... I'm probably looking at an hour at a time in this next season of life.

Until this Easter, Pete has also taken the children to his parents who live by the beach, for the Easter weekend. WOW - that time is so helpful to me in fulfilling my role here in the home... all that above list, all at once! Bliss!
This Easter we've played it safe with bubs due this week. It's different, a nice different... but next year, I'll be 'Home Alone' again.

I also love being home alone WITH Pete. It happens about once a year, though this year it will be twice. We had about 30 hours home alone for our anniversary in March and are looking forward to about 48 hours, mid November. With many thanks to my lovely sister (xx). We prefer to bundle the kids off and be at home ourselves... coming and going as we please. It's so important to do this and have this time with each other. It's just delish!

Do you manage to get all that thinking and doing done with with family around? I know some who go to the local library to get that head space for planning etc but me, I'd rather the family go to the library and ME be home alone! Everything I need at my finger tips. How do you get time alone at home? Or your planning done if you don't make time alone at home?

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2 comments:

  1. I stay up way too late to do my planning. Problem being that it doesn't all get done and I have to tolerate things not flowing too well the next day due to my tiredness and due to not doing all that needed to be done.

    I am going to be trying to implement an afternoon quiet time here. Four voices going all day long is overwhelming for me who is really a bookworm at heart. No chance of reading here anymore. Gave up when second was about 1 year old. Now that would be nice to do if my kids and dh gave me more than 1/2 hour alone.

    Enjoy and get lots done,
    Jen

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  2. yes - late night's will do that! I was much better with the late night's before children LOL

    We have mandatory quiet time each day here. All kids are either sleeping, reading or playing quietly. Gives me 2 hours a day of quiet sanity. It's something I've insisted on from the time I stopped making my eldest nap.
    If you want to start it now and it hasn't been done before, build up to it. 15min with a timer on day 1, 20min, 30min, 45min, an hour, and hour and a half and so on. Great for their development of self discipline and for a parents sanity (and planning time!)
    I use my quiet time during the day at the moment for my own sleep as it's needed most. The day will come again when it is once again a 'doing time' for me.

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