I am the semi-neurotic mother of three kids, ages 18, 8 and 5. My oldest is off to college and my youngest just started school. I’ve been the single mom, divorced mom, married mom, young mom, old mom, career mom, and attends school-at-night mom. I’ve worked in the IT world for almost two decades, but still shy from programming cell phones. I have no free time, but when I do…I write or read or plan our next vacation or holler at whomever to give me some PEACE AND QUIET.
Loneliness
I’m travelling for work again. On one hand it’s just fabulous not having to make dinner, nor rush across town to pick up the girls from daycare. I only have to get myself ready in the morning. I could exercise (I could!) without someone making derogatory comments. I can watch TV, rated ‘MA’, uninterrupted. I can catch up on weeks worth of emails. Someone else is making my bed and replacing my towels. Pure bliss!
Of course, there’s the dirty underbelly of being ‘sans kids’. It’s boring. I feel detached, alone in the universe. When I do talk to them on the phone they are distracted by television, video games, or water dripping from the faucet. I ask them if they had Chiclets and dust-bunnies for dinner and they reply ‘yes, Momma.’
I’m lonely.
I’ll try to remind myself of this next time I’m up to my eyeballs in fighting, back-talking, mess-making kids.
