no time to miss folks

If I weren’t so busy, I might have had time to miss my family when they went off to Mexico for spring break last week. The reality however is that I used the time to catch up. For months housework, paperwork and correspondence have been rather hit and miss.
After my husband, daughter and exchange student left Saturday morning, I tackled all the things I never do, let alone get done when everyone is around.
Shortly after they left I went to out-of-town garage sales because the only place I had to be Saturday was at a long overdue noon hair appointment. I didn’t have time to miss them Saturday evening, my college son and I were watching “Much Ado About Nothing” at the South Arkansas Art Center.
Sunday morning I was listing all the things I wanted to have done before they came home. The more I thought about it, the longer the list grew:
Iron my clothes.
Mail the birthday calendars before anyone else’s birthday goes by unnoticed.
Write or e-mail to family and friends about how busy we have been.
Get copies of pictures I promised to have months ago.
Sort out unwanted clothing for the Salvation Army.
Surprise a few people with a phone cal..
Sunday afternoon I chatted with our number one daughter-in-love in Indiana. After the first hour, her teenage daughters began whining in the background for her to get off the phone. For once I had not teenager staring at me impatiently while I used the phone they wanted to use. No one whispered urgent messages of tasks needing my immediate attention or told me what I needed to say and how I needed to say it.
While my college son caught up on his sleep, Sunday I cleaned out the utility, the hall closet and our bedroom closet. I loaded sacks of clothes in the car to take to the Salvation Army on Monday. No one told me I shouldn’t get rid of the stuff, so I figured it must be OK. I cleaned, dusted and rearranged our bedroom until it looked as pristine as an expensive hotel room.
Tuesday morning I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. I stayed up, stuffed monthly payment checks in envelopes, put address labels on envelopes for the birthday calendars and began adding other odds and ends I had meant to send my children a long time ago.
I gathered up the heap of papers I had put aside until I had time to read them carefully. I threw away half of the pages, put several more in a folder for my husband to read when he has time and sent responses to rest.
Wednesday night I watched television and plodded my way through the mindless task of ironing. The closet looks fuller, the laundry room emptier. I will sleep in an extra 10 minutes every morning for a while.
The pictures are done, yet. But I still have the weekend. The trio won’t return until Saturday night late. I will be ready and waiting with a cleaner house, calmer mind and a touch f loneliness ready to welcome them home.