Nothing To Do

This is my first day in weeks and weeks that I have had nothing to do. Well, let me restate that - nothing urgent to do. I should be doing laundry, ironing, mopping, organizing, packing, cleaning.... I am, after all, a mom of four kids.

But today I have nothing to do - no meals to cook, no errands to run, no major duties.

ahhhh....

So I am concentrating a few hours to doing nothing. I laid on my tummy in bed and read blogs. I stared at the ceiling. I listened to the rain. I rested.

I love quiet. I love the stillness in an empty house.

The day before yesterday, I made more apple butter. My one tree is over producing and I am canning different apple things. The apple butter is in a pot in my fridge because I need to round up enough jars to can it into.

I ate apple butter on bread for lunch all alone. No one talking. No dishes to wash. No serving platters to refill. No cleaning up to do. Only fresh bread, cold apple butter, an a warm cup of milk. (No guilt, either, since my apple butter has no sugar in it - just apples and spices.)

Today, I am taking time to do nothing. Tomorrow, I am going with my son's high school class on an overnight trip. Why? I have no idea. I am still asking myself why I said yes. But he begged me to come. "Mom, please!" Not because he is shy or clingy, but simply because he enjoys my company. His friends enjoy me too. So far, I've managed to strike a delicate balance between being fun and not an embarrassment. I figure I had better enjoy this status of being wanted by my teen and his teenage friends as long as I can. We will be hiking for two days. Keeps me in shape, I guess! I am also somewhat of a wanted commodity on any overnight field trips, especially those that take us outdoors, because of my background in nursing and rather extensive first aid kit. Hoping not to have to use it, but I had better get off my "doing nothing" mini-vacation in time to stock it well.

But for another hour, I am doing nothing. A chance to be alone - rare... valued. A chance to sit in a quiet house and rest, not loading myself down with the various "to-do's" that I could. First on my to-do list today is equally important - take some down time.

Back to staring at patterns in the ceiling, listening to raindrops, and reveling in the solitude.....