Mommy Alone Time

My wildest introverted daydream has now been realized! I am home alone. Alone! There is nobody but me in the house. Sigh, it’s glorious. Mommy alone time is a coveted thing for all moms, especially those of us who are introverted. There’s no escaping children. Those adorable chubby hands reach for me when I’m in the bathroom and Lil' O has even begged to join me in the shower. (It’s in these moments that Husby thankfully runs intervention.) But, still, the best alone time I get is late at night when everyone is asleep. It counts and it’s wonderful. I get so much done! Now that I’m back to work, I also get daytimes at home with just the dog. So nice, but even still there’s always someone to interrupt my train of thought, to take care of, to be sure I’m not literally tripping over or walking into. Really, this pup is constantly nearby! You'd think he was a herding animal.

We started this week sending Knute to doggy daycare during the day. He’s been at this facility when we’re out of town, but today is his first daytime-only visit. To start, it’ll be once every other week. Poor pup desperately needs to socialize with other dogs and while we have been taking care of new baby and juggling Lil’ O, he has fallen to the bottom of the priority list. Sure, he’s still walked once a day and gets to hang with us, but it is so clearly not enough for our high energy, high anxiety dog.

For example, Knute has taken to digging in the backyard when unsupervised; he recently ate bread straight off of the dinner table; he is eager to run and jump, even more than usual; he’s barking more, if that’s even possible; and, when he’s anxious, he vomits up his food. Lovely. So, clearly, something needed to be done. We’re desperately hoping this every-other-week treat will leave him tired and happy, and give us a bit of respite the rest of the week. Getting out some of his pent up energy sure won’t hurt.

So, with him at doggie daycare, Lil’ O at preschool, Lil’ Chica at daycare and Husby at work, that leaves me HOME ALONE. Crazy the amount of coordination it takes to be sure everyone is looked after so mommy can work. Working from home helps that balance, especially on days that I can be here by myself. Letting it sink in: I. Am. Home. Alone. Aaaaahhhhh. Coffee in hand, I may just conquer the world today!