Beach, South Coast, my husband

I get tomorrow all to myself? You mean, I don’t have to make lunches? I don’t have to rouse the kiddo? I don’t have to wish the husband off to a good day? I don’t have to answer texts from friends? I don’t have to check my email for volunteer obligations? I don’t have to go to work? I don’t have to take the kiddo to school? I don’t have to…

Tomorrow, I could just focus on me?

I think the day would start something like this. The night before, I would turn the alarm off. No one is around (temporarily) to rouse me, so I don’t wake up any earlier than I have to. Maybe the first time my eyes open is 8am. Maybe it’s 6am, like when my alarm would go off, but I don’t get up until 8am. Maybe I even stay in bed a little longer. So, I wake up. I stretch. I swing my feet off the bed. I snuggle on my Adissage and shuffle out of my room, holding my water and my phone.

I shuffle through the door, down our short hall, over the floor heater, onto the carpet, round the corner, into the kitchen. Magically, my kitchen is sparkling, so all I have to do is make coffee. I measure out five cups of water, rinse the gold cone filter, and scoop out five heaping mounds of beans into the grinder.

Beach, Lincoln City

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-shake-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20. Bang on the counter. Flip it over. Bang with the hand. Swoop, pull off the top. Swoosh, dump the grinds into the filter, in the coffee pot. Grab the little brush, sweep the remnants into the pot. Tap the “1-4 cup” button, turn it on, walk away.

Maybe I’m ambitious and I take a shower. Maybe, because no one has taken the hot water, and there’s no agenda, I shave my legs. Then it’s allergy pills. Lotion the face. Shuffle off to the bedroom. Pick my comfiest jeans and a t-shirt. Grab my trusty sweatshirt. Slip on the gray mary janes, and I head back to the kitchen.

I grab the bowl, and I fry myself two eggs. Toast. Grab my book. And, I read while mopping up the yolk and sipping on my coffee. Dishes in the dishwasher, brush my teeth, and then it’s upstairs to write … and ponder, and browse.

Yummy Breakfast, Florence, Oregon

I begin to get restless, so I do something I never do. I go out for a walk. We’ve walked around the park, so often now, I decide to wander the neighborhood. My phone is charged, so I pop in my earphones, and just walk, and ponder, and watch.

This takes me until about noon, and I begin to get hungry. So, I continue on my walk to the sandwich shop that opened where the coffee shop was and then the nifty breakfast shop that had an untimely end. The sandwich shop has been here for a few years now, and I’ve always wanted to try it.

After enjoying my leisurely lunch, I am getting sleepy – so I walk home, and I take an afternoon nap. About the time I wake up, it’s dinner time. Now that I have had the whole day to myself, I crave company. So, I go out with some girlfriends I haven’t seen in a while. We venture to another side of town and have a Swedish dinner followed by some time in the Finnish sauna.

The eventful, pondering day ends with glowing skin, delicious food, and lots to write about for the next day.

I can’t wait to make this day a reality.

Waterfall, California