What would you do with 48 hours of alone time?

It was Friday afternoon and I was in my typical mom position, on the ground playing with my youngest two boys. My husband comes down the stairs from his office and offers me the best proposition of my life “What if I took the boys to the cottage and you stayed home for the weekend?” It was music to my ears but also a shock to my system. I had turn around and look at my husband to make sure that he was really there saying those words and it wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. He then said for me to think about it and I responded back saying “maybe you think about it, because I’m in.” As if I had to think about it. It’s like someone saying “you won the TOGEL SYDNEY lottery. Do you want your money or should we give it away?”  Before he could change his mind, I started packing up the boys bags for the weekend and started making calls for the spa.

ALONE TIME!

The truth is, I didn’t have much time to prepare myself, so I didn’t have any plans. A swarm of thoughts came into my head as to what I would do. The obvious “sleep, drink hot coffee, sleep and use the bathroom by myself and more sleep” came into my head but beyond that, I wasn’t sure. There were lots of things to do around the house like tidying, sorting, organizing, laundry, dishes, etc… but I also wanted to write some blog posts, go shopping, get a pedicure, etc…  I also contemplated going to the CNE at night with a friend for an adult experience of the food and rides or perhaps heading to a bar for The Hip concert.

I wanted to do everything but also nothing at all. It was a strange juxtaposition of having excessive energy but also feeling total relaxation.

So what did I end up doing? I binge watched Netflix, I ate out almost exclusively, I had UNINTERRUPTED sleep for 8+ hours each night, I walked around downtown Toronto, I went shopping (for ME), I got a pedicure, read the 100 articles I “saved for later” on Facebook, and still managed to do laundry and tidy the house. It was a perfect mix of everything that I wanted to do.

Lunch with my parents

Here’s what I learned about my time spent alone.

1. I miss alone time! I need alone time! There’s something freeing about having no one to take care of or think about other than yourself. I wouldn’t want it forever, but a break once in a while is good for my mental health and my soul!
2. Your house can stay clean and tidy for more than 5 minutes. All you need to do is to remove the kids from your home.
3. It’s amazing what you can get done when you don’t have kids hanging around or physically on you, saying “mommy” every minute or require your constant attention, input or help.
4. Distance does make the heart grow fonder. A minute didn’t go by without me thinking about the boys and what they were doing. That doesn’t mean I wanted them back home, but they were always in my thoughts. I was really excited about our reunion.
5. Mom guilt is the worst and it’s hard to escape it. I am so grateful and fortunate to have a loving and understanding husband. I probably should have just asked him sooner for a “weekend alone” instead of just waiting for him to offer it.
6. I am constantly tired! One weekend of alone time isn’t going to solve that, but it’s a start!

What would you do if you have 48 hours to yourself?