Missing Mimosas: Lost Free Time

I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging.  It isn't for a lack of things to write about, but rather an absence of time. I honestly feel as though all of the free time I once had has been sucked away into a great abyss, leaving me with space only for the necessities. My life is consumed with children, work, and epic amounts of laundry. I rarely talk on the phone with friends, and I cannot tell you the last time I have tuned into my beloved BRAVO reality shows, oh cat fights and fake boobs how I have missed you!

Things are good don't get me wrong. My kids are thriving in school, I'm keeping in shape with my physical therapy, running "lite" and group training, I attend book club monthly, even when I don't read the books, and have managed to eek out a few date nights with the husband. We have implemented Sunday night "family movie nights" each week, where we snuggle on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch an 80's classic, Back To The Future, ET, Princess Bride, etc.  We are preparing for Halloween madness, and exploring the previously uncharted waters of having regular sit down family meals. Things are good. Very good.

But something is missing. And that thing is called "free time." Perhaps more than others, I have always valued time alone. I find it incredibly refreshing to be in my own company, lazy window shopping on a Saturday afternoon or sitting in a cozy coffee shop with just a book. Unscheduled time where I am not rushing, running late and stressed about a multitude of obligations. I long for this true "me" time. Not time with a treadmill, or rushing through Target to find the perfect birthday gift for an 8 year old classmate, time that is JUST mine and just for pure pleasure. I have tried to find ways to build in an occasional retreat into my life, just a few weeks ago I managed Sunday brunch with a couple of friends and too many mimosas, then passed out during my sixty minute massage. Bliss. But when I returned I felt guilty for spending a Sunday away from the family and annoyed by the mess that my departure left behind.

I know this is a stage in life. Hell twenty years from now, when the house is empty perhaps I'll feel bored and start searching for a hobby, but at the moment I am missing my blog, my Real Housewives of Crazy and Sunday morning mimosas.....