Slightly Selfish Saturday.

We could be joining our friends at the beach today.

And perhaps on a steamy summer Saturday, we should be. We are at the peak of summer and it won't be long before we hit the back-to-school routine and then the air turns cooler and the beach becomes something to look forward to next summer.

But today I'm choosing to putz around the house and take care of a few nagging things before I hit the road tomorrow to go see my hubs.

By myself.

That's right. Flying solo. A 10(ish)-hour road trip when I can listen to whatever I want, at whatever volume I want, on the radio. I can take as many or as few pit stops as I want to. No bickering. No nagging about how much longer it will take. No piling favorite pillows and blankets and stuffed animals and books and backpacks full of god knows what into the back seat of the truck because we just have to have access to everything while we're on the road.

Wednesday is my birthday and I can't imagine a better gift from my family than them taking care of Sam and Rachel and the house and the animals and my gardens so I can take a vacation. Oh, I love my children and my life but this mama needs a break from all of it. Not just a break for me, but a chance for me and Steve to focus some attention on each other.

I'm pretty amped up about the opportunity to do whatever I want to do for ... oh, I don't know ... a week at least. It doesn't take much to make me happy: uninterrupted reading, uninterrupted napping, good chocolate that I don't have to hide from the littles, window shopping for fun/creative ideas without hearing "Can we get that? Can we get that?" a hundred times. And, of course, alone time with Steve. Maybe even a special birthday dinner. Other than those things, I have few expectations for the week.

Looking ahead I know the last few weeks of summer will fly by when I get back. We have a contractor coming to pour some concrete for us the week I return, I'll want to take the kids back out to see Steve at least once more before school starts, and they both have activities we need to plan for toward the end of the month.

*Whoosh* There goes August.

So today I'm just chillin'. Folding a load of laundry here ... sorting a stack of papers there. Little things that will make it easier to not feel the urgency to hurry up and get things done before the next round of busy-ness begins.

I was feeling a little selfish this morning because we had the opportunity to do something fun and I chose to stay home and do something decidedly not so fun. The kids are SO BORED(!!!) they can hardly see straight. I'm pretty sure they'll live, though. And in the end everyone will be happy ... because mama will be happy.