Just Some Peace and Quiet

My two oldest children are off at Vacation Bible School this week. I have to admit it, I’m sure enjoying the time alone. The church is all of 3 minutes from our house, so from the moment we walk out the door until Bip and I return only takes me 12 minutes. I’m back home by 9 am! I spend awhile enjoying the peace and playing with Bip, then he’s off for his nap and the rest of the hour and a half are all mine! Amazing what I can get done when I’m alone!

I have reclaimed my craft/guest room. We had guests at the beginning of May, so all my crafting things had to be packed up and stored in other areas of the house. Then the room became overflow storage as we worked to unpack boxes and sort through things to give away and sell. Now the yard sale is over and there is nothing else on the schedule, so I’ve been using the time to take back my room.

First off, I baby proofed it so Bip can join me in there if he’s awake and I’m feeling crafty. Then I worked on clearing space for my craft table to open up and on bringing in the craft supplies. I worked on the room for close to an hour yesterday and this morning I was ready to craft! I made a promise to myself to work at least 15 minutes in that room, putting things away, before I can sit down and craft. Today I moved a big box of office supplies out and combined it with another box of office supplies, giving me one empty box. That box went back to the craft room to hold some clothes I found for Bip to grow into. That box will go live in my closet, just as soon as Bip wakes from his nap. At last, it was time to stamp. I am woefully, pitifully and embarrassingly late on some stamping commitments I had made back when Bip was a napping baby. I got right to work on those cards. It felt so wonderfully good to put stamps to paper again. Ahhh, a quiet house, a craft table all set up, complete with a natural light lamp, just stamping away. I was in my groove! I was very good, though and stopped at 11:00 and came down and did some housework.

I’ll be able to finish the cards tomorrow, I think. I love, love, love rubber stamping! Plus, having a rare break from the children just makes me appreciate them more. I am happy and smiling again. I’m even willing to listen to their long-winded stories. (I even encouraged them to talk!)

I have often bristled at hearing others say things like “I can hardly wait until my kids go back to school.” I like my children, as difficult as they can be. I enjoy spending time with them. They are funny and smart and challenging. I am glad I don’t send them off to school on a regular basis. But you know what, I need a break. Not just an hour or so of quiet time a day, but an actual break. I think this is the first time ever that both the older children have been gone for any real amount of time. It’s refreshing. I can do whatever I want with the time. I could even get a babysitter to be in the house while Bip sleeps. Cool. For now, I’ll stick to crafting at home.

I’m enjoying this week while I can. My children are really, really enjoying VBS. It’ll be nice when this week is over and we return to being together full time and I am a happier, more refreshed Mama.

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