Mental Health Day

All of my daycare kids ended up with summer vacation plans that kept them from coming today, so I ended up with an unexpected day off. Deedee needed somebody to watch her boys, since her usual sitter (Savannah) is out of town, so they came over and Harrison has been hosting them all day. The end result is that I've essentially had the entire day to myself.

I'm sure a responsible grown-up would have taken advantage of the time to get caught up on the long "to-do" list, which is so daunting due to my regular schedule. Not me, though. Never let it be said that I always do the responsible thing.

Instead, I ended up coasting through the day. Deedee's boys weren't due until 10:30 this morning, so I didn't get out of bed until after 9. Then I snuggled on the couch with Harrison (who was already "up and at 'em" by the time I came out of the bedroom) and we saw the end of whatever cartoon movie he was watching.

When the boys arrived, all 3 of them went upstairs to play, leaving me in amazing solitude. I started going through my email, trying to catch up and sort through (I don't check daily in the summer, and it piles up FAST). Then I decided to read all the family blogs that I enjoy tracking. Next thing I knew, it was 1:30pm and I hadn't made anything for lunch.

I rounded up the boys and we made a quick run to the BK drive-thru (the boys were in heaven). Since we were out, I went ahead and deposited checks at the bank, then did some grocery shopping. BK wasn't much of a meal for the boys, so we got supplemental lunch items at the store, and they had a mini-picnic in the kitchen when we got home.

Now they are upstairs again. When I checked on them to see if they were ready to go swimming, they were "multi-tasking", each playing on his DS while watching something on TV and having a full-blown chatter-filled conversation. When I asked about swimming, they gave me these apologetic faces and said "maybe later, ok?"

We're having a cookout tonight with Deedee & her family, so I need to get started straightening up the house and making side dishes, but first I'm going to take advantage of this quiet alone time. I can't believe how rejuvenating it feels to just relax and put all my to-do items out of my mind for a day.

Blissful.