All By Myself

 

When Ryan and I married, we made a choice to do life together. It reminded me of my grandparents, who did everything together for as long as I could remember. I was excited about the idea of sharing everything – from the mundane to the grand – after so many years of being on my own.

            Some people celebrated that desire with us and others told us we were ridiculous. Spend time apart, they’d say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. But we always knew our choice was to forge a life together. It suits us, and we embrace it.

            And so we’ve done just that. We grocery shop together, cook together, do housework together, watch TV together – even when we don’t always choose the same shows.

            Over the weekend, Ryan wasn’t feeling well, so I ventured forth to do a little shopping on my own. It wasn’t the same kind of fun I would have had with him, but it was fun, just the same. I lingered in a thrift store, revisiting the same shelves over and over, making sure I really didn’t leave any regrets behind.

            Also recently, he had to work longer into the evening than he normally does. Lexi and I stared at one another, trying to figure out what to do with all this extra time! I read in my novel, and she sat on my feet in support. We cooked and cleaned and tried to get everything looking shiny for his return home. (Well, I cooked and cleaned. She watched.)

            It made me think about the things I do enjoy working on when I have some extra time to myself.

I get lost in books.

I write for hours.

I scrapbook.

I plan vacations.

I scour Pinterest.

I brainstorm projects in my mind.

            I will always choose time with Ryan over anything else, but when I have time alone, I do enjoy the opportunity to dig into some of my favorite things. How about you? What’s your favorite thing to do when you have time to yourself?