Ah, the sound of silence. Do you enjoy having the house to yourself? I do, in fact I often dream of just being able to putter around the house doing my thing in quiet. No TV in the background, no music. Just me in my house with absolute quiet.
I have been married for over 30 years, to a fantastic guy who recently retired. When he was working, he had quite the commute, so he was gone long days. And when the boys were home, he was also busy running them to soccer practice or scouts, so I often found I had the house to myself and boy did I enjoy the quiet.
Fast forward to the present and we are now transitioning to this “new relationship,” where we are having to navigate what to do with all our together time. I will say this is quite the transition for me because it seems like he is ALWAYS home. Don’t get me wrong, he is not ALWAYS home. It just seems that he is ALWAYS home when I’m home, which I will admit can be sporadic because I tend to juggle many things. I am constantly in and out of the house attending meetings, events and traveling. So, he gets his time without me at home, which I know he enjoys.
Recently, I’m thinking (again) how I’d love to spend a couple of days home alone, so I encourage him to plan a trip to see our youngest son for the weekend. It will be nice for the two of them to spend some one-on-one time together and more importantly it will give me peace and quiet. So, we are killing two birds with one stone. Fostering my son and husbands’ relationship and me getting my Home Alone silence fix.
“Why is this alone time so important to me?” I ask. I have an awesome husband who supports me, and I’m finding that as I’m home alone, does lots of things for me to make my life easier.
He brings me my coffee every morning when I’m prepping for a call, loads and unloads the dishwasher, waters the plants, runs to Staples for me at the last minute when my computer mouse just stops working, and willingly executes the home projects I manage to conjure up. It used to be my responsibility to do these errands/tasks when he was commuting, except for the home projects, so I’m very much enjoying this role reversal that’s part of our empty nest marriage transition.
Keep in mind these are the things that have come to the surface in the two hours that I’ve been home alone. Wow! Maybe I don’t really want to be home alone. Now that’s something to consider.
I am going to relish this time to think and regroup. It will be a retreat of sorts. I’d like to use this time to clear some of my head space, read, and take a leisurely walk. I recently read an inspirational quote that stated, “Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers. I hope so…
Do you enjoy being home alone or would you prefer to have others in the house with you? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Action Step: Plan a few hours of alone time in your home to help you clear your thoughts and enjoy being.
