Me Time!

Two episodes of me-time right in a row! 

Last night I went shopping with my good friend of 18 years.  Which oddly enough, was kind of strange.  I usually go shopping alone, or with one, two, or even three octopi.  I shop by myself because I like to take my time doing what I want, in the stores that I want to be in, for as long as I want to be in them.  My friend (who has four octopi) typically does the same.  When we got there she read my mind and said, "I never shop with anyone, I always go by myself."  I replied, "me too!" So there we were, two single shoppers trying to navigate the social shopping rules.  We have similar taste so it was a pretty smooth transition :).  I bought a pair of cute jeans with some fancy pocket work and a hippy-type tank top.  She bought some pants and cute flowy shirt.  Our husbands were at home feeding the children, giving them baths, and putting them to bed.  It was awesome.

This morning I went hiking.  Well, I suppose it was really just walking at a slight angle up a small mountain.  No hiking boots, no water bottles, and it was only a 3-mile round-trip, but we were on a dirt road and it went uphill.  We split money on a babysitter, and took off free as birds in a Nissan Pathfinder.  We spent two hours away from the kiddos. We climbed and talked ourselves to the top, where we could see a 360 degree view of the city.  The weather was gorgeous.  We were all baring our pale-white slightly unshaven legs, and no one cared (I believe mine were the whitest of the white, almost glow-in-the-dark).  A beautiful morning with friends.  It was awesome!

While I was shopping last night, I saw a sign on one of the walls:  "Love is spoken here."  Simple and basic as that is, it struck me as a revelation somehow.  I felt like those words hit me in a deep place.  That is my new motto. That is what I want my kids to feel.  That is the atmosphere I want to have.  Too often the frustration takes hold and I react, because I am feeling burned out.  And no one is perfect and loving all of the time.  But when I take some breaks, catch my breath, take in the scenery, and have time to reflect (and shop), perhaps it will be easier to speak the language of love, rather than the language of frustration.  It just may require the use of an expensive babysitter.