on friday, a new era starts.  the era of time alone.  it’s so strange.

as background, i have two preschoolers (aged 3 & 4).  since the first one was born nearly five years ago, i have logged only TWO occasions in which i have been alone in my house for more than an hour.   maybe three.   and both times i was desperately sick.  so the relaxation factor was certainly NOT at a premium.

that is not to say that i haven’t been alone.  i certainly have been.  but i have been AWAY & alone rather than home alone.  like out to dinner alone.  or shopping alone.  or visiting another city alone.   never just sitting alone in my house.  but now one day a week for six hours each day my children will be at preschool and i will have no where else to be.  i will be working three OTHER days leaving friday mornings completely unscheduled.

it’s odd how unconventional this alone time feels.  what shall i do?  the suppressed introvert in me wants not to move and to simply lie there and read as the hours pass by.   lay there and attempt to grow moss.  actual moss.  it could happen.  we live it florida; it’s VERY moist!!  the overachiever wants me to recover everything not bolted to the floor and sew myself (and potentially others) a fashionable new wardrobe.  or do yoga while planning out my next 10,000 health meals.   or sew while eating celery in a pigeon pose.

both people, the overachiever AND the suppressed introvert, are having an overwhelming (and completely misplaced) desire to compare myself to nelson mandela.  i mean there must be SOME common ground between being imprisoned for decades by a racist government and being held captive by terrorists who demand cups to be filled constantly and don’t use the potty.   let’s be fair…i don’t think my liberation will change the social and political course of a country.  at least not in the first few weeks.  but it’s still so exciting!  daunting!  exhilarating!

we shall see what shall become of these open hours.  for the time being, though, i am embracing a new theme song.  dredged from the genre my sister and i refer to as “bad 80’s christian”, it suits the mood perfectly.*  i plan to sing it without reserve while i spin around in my empty house.  to celebrate, i leave you with this gem (not nearly as good as the album version) which you too can add to your current song list.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a42OCpZ7NXk

* “bad 80’s christian,” despite the name, is my favorite music genre.  it includes all the classic christian music to which my family grew up listening.   it includes mylon lefevre, whiteheart, the altar boys, etc.  just to name a few!