On Sunday afternoon, I walked into the grocery store. Set my tote bag in the cart. Pulled my shopping list out. And immediately felt...weird.
Weird? Why, you might ask?
Well, friends, the reason I felt weird at Market 32 was because I was...alone. Without my usual Sunday-afternoon shopping companions, aka my daughters/sidekicks, Grace and Anna.
The day before, as I was working at the library, Stanton drove our kiddos to my mom and dad's house near Scranton, Pa. Stanton stayed for lunch, then drove the three hours back to our home in upstate New York. The girls would be with their Nona and Pop for one of their last weeks of summer vacation, while Stanton and I would be unusually kid-free.
Here I was, then, at the front of the grocery store, and nobody was asking me if they could pick out donuts from the grab-and-go display case to the right. Nobody was pulling me away from the display of rotisserie chickens ("Aaagggh, rotisserie chicken! Sooo boring!"), or sneaking glitter spiral hair ties from the personal-care aisle into the cart.
Despite the tons of people (it was a Sunday afternoon, after all), everything around me felt quiet.
I missed those little monsters.
Now it's Friday, and Stanton and I will be heading out tomorrow to pick up the girls. I missed them, and at the same time, I appreciated the time to do some things I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.
What do you do when your kids aren't home? Well, this is what I did...
...or sneaking glitter spiral hair ties from the personal-care aisle into the cart.
On Saturday evening, for the first time in a while, Stanton and I went out for dinner. I had worked from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Stanton had driven six hours round trip...a date night sounded perfect.
"Where do you want to go?" Stanton asked. "Sawa Sushi? Swifty's?
These are two of our favorite local restaurants. I love them both, but that night, I leaned toward Sawa. It has a quiet, low-key vibe while Swifty's is...exactly the opposite. (Lots of fun, and exactly the opposite!)
It was so nice to enjoy a relaxed dinner together.
The next day, as you already know, I went grocery shopping solo, and then for dinner that evening, I made a new recipe: Baked Salmon with Grapefruit Salad, from my beloved "Modern Proper" cookbook (page 189). This recipe is fantastic (the homemade honey mustard vinaigrette especially so!), and I'll definitely make it again.
Earlier that day, a friend texted and asked if the girls and I would like to meet up with her and her kiddos at the town pool. I gave her a call and shared (somewhat deliriously happily, I must admit! ) that for the coming week, due to "Pop and Nona summer camp," I would be MIA from all my usual summertime-with-kids haunts: the town pool, any and all playgrounds, the ice-cream counter at Stewart's.
"Enjoy!" my dear friend said.
And I did, friends. I really did. Although it wasn't all fun and games...
Our next-door neighbor asked Stanton and me if we'd be willing to trim a tree of ours that was impeding upon their shed. Of course, we said.
"You know what," Stanton said. "That tree's been bothering me for years. I'm just going to chainsaw the whole thing down."
Agh.
I cringe whenever my husband of 15 years, and father of my children, expresses his desire to use a chainsaw. (I've written about this previously, as you may remember!) I'm concerned about all my loved ones and their personal safety around power tools.
But Stanton assured me—assured me—he'd be careful, everything would be A-OK.
Sigh. OK, fine. Fine.
We're lucky to have a very kind neighbor, known as "Tim" in my blog posts, who let Stanton borrow his chainsaw. Around 6 p.m. on Monday, Stanton began chainsaw-ing the pesky tree down...only to find that it was not one tree, but three small trees tangled together.
Three small trees...tangled together.
Two hours later, as the sun was setting, Stanton finally clicked the chainsaw off.
I joined him outside. Sweat soaked his T-shirt, and shavings of tree bark littered his hair. "Honey?"
Stanton gestured to the ground, where the tree(s) lay. "Done!"
The whole space really looked so much better, and our neighbor's shed was no longer in danger of collapsing under the weight of the tree branches. "Honestly, Stan, this is amazing," I admitted. "Really good job."
I did notice that a section of our white picket fence alongside one of the now-downed trees appeared, well, broken, but...nothing to worry about at the moment, I was sure.
"I have to say, though, Mel." Stanton raised his eyebrows. "It was harder than I thought."
I scanned the ground again. Chainsaw-upped trees...and branches...were everywhere.
Yep. Yep, I could definitely see that.
(Thank you so much again, Tim, for letting us borrow your chainsaw!)
...I'm just going to chainsaw the whole thing down."
The next day, before I went to work, I cleaned out Anna's closet. My younger child is a bit of a pack rat. A very cute one, but a pack rate nonetheless.
This week, I also worked additional shifts at the library, and caught up on some freelance work, and even a PTA project for the upcoming school year.
Wow, I thought. I'm getting so much done. Fall 2023, here I come!
Then mid-week, I was chatting with Stanton's mom. "Go to your favorite place," Charlotte said, "and get your favorite thing."
Go to your favorite place, and get your favorite thing.
I love this, friends. I love this.
Yesterday, I took my mother-in-law's advice, and did just that. I happened to be near a great local bagel shop, and got a BLT along with the house-blend coffee.
Heaven.
The last time I had been there had been with the girls. The last time I'd been lots of places, in fact, had been with the girls.
This week has been refreshing, productive...and I'm excited to wrap it up tomorrow by seeing Grace and Anna.
Even if they do happen to sneak some glitter spiral hair ties into the shopping cart on Sunday.
Photo credit: Pixabay
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