Some blessed time alone

I am not a fan of sleepless nights. Or of extreme heat. Which is why I ended up climbing out of bed and into the shower before the sun was barely over the horizon. It's going to be a long day.


Saturday, on the other hand, was a too short, marvelously wonderful day. You see, I finally had a day to myself. My husband, who retired 38 days ago and has rarely left the house without me since then, volunteered to help at our church's flea market. I was beside myself with joy! He left around 7:45 and did not return until 4:30 or so. It was the best day ever. You know we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone and looking back, I never truly appreciated my time alone ... until I no longer had any!

Now, I recognize that people are all different. Some of you might hate the thought of solitude. However, I thrive on it. That is not a reflection on my husband. He's wonderful. It's a reflection on me ... my disposition. I do not enjoy being with anyone 24/7. I just don't. But, let's get back to Saturday.

The biggest issue I faced on Saturday was what to do with my time. Part of me was screaming "Get thee to Writerhead," while another part was longing to just sit in the sun and read. Still another side was prompting me to do laundry, clean the fish bowl, make potato salad clean the kitchen, etc. That side won.

Were these things I could do with Bill around? Of course. But did I enjoy doing them in solitude. Oh yeah. I turned on my Singers and Swing music station and listened to it all day long. The volume was turned up loud enough to be heard in the basement, and upstairs, and out on the patio, but not loud enough to be annoying.

I never did get around to doing any personal writing, but I did sit in the sun and work on drafting the first chapter of a book on finances that I'm writing with a client. That's what I was working on when I heard Bill's car in the driveway.

Even though I didn't forsake work for the day, I still considered the day to be a Sabbath rest. Why? Because it was pure refreshment for my spirit. Resting doesn't necessarily mean sitting around doing nothing. Sometimes activity can be exactly what we need. In my case, it was activity with no agenda, no schedule, no to-do list ... and no one to interrupt. That was the divine.

Yesterday, I spent time in worship with my church family. Then I attended a baby shower, finally making it home around 3:30. And then I did what any Sabbath-loving person would do ... I laid down and took a 2 1/2 hour nap! What a luxury!

But then, since I hadn't pushed myself on deadlines on Saturday, I admit, I did sit down at my desk and work for a few hours in the evening. I was rewarded with a delicious dinner Bill planned and prepared himself. We sat outside and ate and then topped off the weekend with a competitive game of Bananagrams. When it comes to weekends ... this one gets high ratings.

Now if I could only figure out how to survive these menopausal night issues ...

Sharing my Sabbath experience,

Han