First & foremost, I love my family. That being said, sometimes a lady needs a break. For those of you who can relate, read on...the rest of you just better go back to your familial bliss.
Tonight I dropped my family off and ran away. Okay that sounds a little dramatic. I did not pack a suitcase and hide in a tree house. Let's just say I went to return a video and took the LONG way home. As a child, my grandmother taught me that the best place to escape was a good book. Therefore, I found myself wandering aimlessly around Barnes & Noble. The smell of Starbucks wafting through rows & rows of
uncracked books and intellectuals mingling over lattes was heaven. No one grabbing my face or pulling at my hemline demanding my undivided attention. I could just be. By proximity, I exuded intelligence. For all these bookies knew I was a political genius, rocket scientist, journalist, professor. I had found my people...and best of all, they didn't expect anything from me. For a good hour, I checked out of my life and pretended to be someone with a brain. Rubbing elbows with college students, philosophers, book worms, and random loiterers, I found that I wanted to sink into a recliner and have deep thoughts. I wanted to go back to when my brain was mine...uncluttered & interesting!
As I sipped my steaming Starbucks delight, I wandered without purpose. Almost wishing I had important research to conduct or a term paper to write, I itched to be a student again. I thumbed through heavy volumes that were way beyond my comprehension. I paused for a moment in front of the classics. While paying my respects, I stared off into space. I reveled in the absence of any thoughts or responsibilities, but hoped for brilliance by osmosis. I then passed the home reference section. It was there that smug Martha Stewart posed contently with household cleaning items on the cover of a book thicker than my waistline (which is hard to beat these days!). Believe me, no one enjoys cleaning that much. And any enjoyment I feel comes from the fumes! Can't a girl escape from domestic duties? Hello, I am hiding in a bookstore! Besides Martha if I have time to read your cumbersome book, it means that I have finished pulling out all of my eyelashes and knitted a vest with them.
I digress. Perusing aisles and mentally making lists of interesting books, I realized that I have no excuse. I can't use the "if I only had a brain" line, because this is not the Wizard of Oz. This is my life. I can be a life long learner. I just have to make time for my own stimulus. So how do I do it all? While Martha makes it seem easy, she also has a staff and record. My question is this- in the absence of a hired team and prison smarts, how do you make time for you?
Alas, E's will is stronger than duct tape. She escaped!! Those quiet moments I innocently assumed E was napping--E was actually freeing herself from her "super star belt". (Yes, we gave it a name to jazz it up.) She is our little naked Houdini aka "Nude-ini". It all makes sense now. I wondered why E would hold so still for diaper changes and extra strength tape applications. It turns out, she was patiently biding her time and strategizing her exit. And exit she did! When I peeked in to check on her, there IT was... World's soggiest diaper sitting in the middle of the room with shreds of silver dangling from it's remains. It had been lobbed over the side of her crib and left for pick up. And there SHE was...peacefully asleep in the buff! Back to the onesies we go!
