An Introvert's Dream Come True

Note: As an exercise to force me to grow photographically, I took all the pictures in this post with a 24mm prime lens (wide angle with no zoom). Roll over the photos with you mouse to see the unedited versions.

At this moment I am sitting in a perfectly quiet, empty house. And, it is heavenly.

After an unexpected series of events early Wednesday morning, I picked up the older two kids from school that afternoon and drove a couple of hours to drop all four of them off with Eric's parents (their school has an extended spring break starting today). All of a sudden, I have 48 hours all to myself. It's not often that a mother truly gets a couple of days off, and I intend to take full advantage of it.

I'm also excited for my kids; they are getting some quality time with their grandparents, something that I really didn't experience as a child. But, I have to admit, I'm a bit anxious as well. I always worry about my kids when there away from me. One of my worst fears is that something would happen to them without me being there, so this is a big exercise in trust. To help me through it I have the Blessed Mother on speed dial.

But, as an extreme introvert, I'm reveling in the quiet and solitude. This morning I lingered over my prayers, slowly ate breakfast on the front porch while reading blogs on my kindle and went for a long walk before this afternoon's rains. Today has been so renewing, body, mind and soul.

I do miss my kids, of course. But, I so needed some silence. Of course, if I didn't daily experience the great energy and noise of my children, these quiet days wouldn't be nearly so sweet. So, my children continue to bless me even if they are not physically with me.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to going to daily mass (and actually listening to the readings and homily!), doing some organizing and a decorating project (photos to come), and hopefully more blogging and lots of photo editing. I'm trying to squeeze in all the things I love that I find difficult to do with the kids around. I do not plan to clean anything unless it's absolutely necessary.

And then I'm looking forward to joining my kids for the weekend to spend it with cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents mostly in the great outdoors. And, that will be wonderful, too.

By then I'll be more than ready to see my kids.



P.S. I entered the pic of Gustin riding his trike in the April photo challenge at iheartfaces.com