Monday was my wife's birthday. She woke up early to attend 7:00 a.m. Mass as she normally does. When she returned we went on a birthday breakfast date, just the two of us. Afterwards, she departed for an out-of-town silent retreat on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She has done this before and wanted to do again, her birthday gift to herself. "If its good for you then it is fine with me", I told her. Fine provided I didn't have to do unless I wanted to which I didn't. I bought her a purse for her birthday, the one she found and wanted, hoping it would bring her many years of happiness and that she wouldn't lose it. I got off easy this year.
So today is day 5 at the bachelor pad. I've been alone ever since she left and will be alone until she returns on Saturday, with the exception of last night when a friend of the family asked to spend the night out of concern that I might be lonely. Rather than assure him that I was fine and actually enjoying my "loneliness", I accepted his offer, knowing that there is charity in receiving gifts from others whether needed, wanted or not.
Alone by myself it has been business as usual because I am a middle-age man, a creature of habit. Up at the crack of dawn, a cup of Starbuck's joe, shower and shave, then a drive to work, arriving around 9:00 a.m. just as I do this time of year. Work until 3:00 p.m. then on to the gym to train how and for as long as I normally do, so predictable it could be done blindfolded. I could set a clock to the routines of my life, so accurate, plain and vanilla as it comes.
Thoughts creep into my head of what I could do differently during my weeklong loneliness retreat and wife fast. The mischief I could find, the no good I could do, the late nights I could frequent, the wee hours of the morning I could determine still exist, returning home just in time at the crack of dawn to repeat it all again the next day. Nobody would know, it would be my little secret, if I played my cards right; nobody if you don't count me, myself and I.
But tempting as it seems I'll skip it all because I am a middle-age man, a devoted and faithful husband of 30 years with the battle scars to prove it, content to be living day 5 at the bachelor pad.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum
So today is day 5 at the bachelor pad. I've been alone ever since she left and will be alone until she returns on Saturday, with the exception of last night when a friend of the family asked to spend the night out of concern that I might be lonely. Rather than assure him that I was fine and actually enjoying my "loneliness", I accepted his offer, knowing that there is charity in receiving gifts from others whether needed, wanted or not.
Alone by myself it has been business as usual because I am a middle-age man, a creature of habit. Up at the crack of dawn, a cup of Starbuck's joe, shower and shave, then a drive to work, arriving around 9:00 a.m. just as I do this time of year. Work until 3:00 p.m. then on to the gym to train how and for as long as I normally do, so predictable it could be done blindfolded. I could set a clock to the routines of my life, so accurate, plain and vanilla as it comes.
Thoughts creep into my head of what I could do differently during my weeklong loneliness retreat and wife fast. The mischief I could find, the no good I could do, the late nights I could frequent, the wee hours of the morning I could determine still exist, returning home just in time at the crack of dawn to repeat it all again the next day. Nobody would know, it would be my little secret, if I played my cards right; nobody if you don't count me, myself and I.
But tempting as it seems I'll skip it all because I am a middle-age man, a devoted and faithful husband of 30 years with the battle scars to prove it, content to be living day 5 at the bachelor pad.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum
2 comments:
Hi Honey,
I see you have on your shades in your avatar over at df. You better not be checking out any eye candy on your walks or you are going to have some more battle scars. See you soon.
That is my Clark Kent photo so nobody will recognize that I am really Superman.
What's eye candy?
Thanks for visiting.
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