This was my less than loving response when my incredibly attractive husband walked downstairs and began our first verbal exchange of the day.
It was a Friday and it went something like this…
Him: “Honey, we need to run a few errands and get some things done around the house.”
Me: “I know, but NOT today! It’s my ‘pajama pants wearin’, don’t tell me what to do, day!’ I exclaimed, while shoving another sea salt & turbinado sugar dark chocolate almond in my mouth and chasing it with Peet’s coffee. (Perfect combination if you ask me.)
Him: “Ooooooo-kay.”
Me: “You KNOW this! Friday is MY day to do what I want! And I don’t want to run errands or wash dishes, do laundry or anything else that requires motivation on my day to do what I want! I will do it tomorrow or Sunday, but NOT TODAY.”
Side Note: My man is Sicilian. He is intense and passionate. (Two of the many things that make him irresistible to this southern gal.) Nothing gets his heart racing (in a good or bad way) like I do. I read his cues well at this point and what his deep caramel colored eyes were telling me was that he was maintaining the utmost control by not saying anything. Now, he may have been biting the sides of his cheeks ’til they bled, but I was really proud of him for not engaging my teenage like tantrum.
Him: “Would you mind peeling yourself off the sofa long enough to dress our son so that I can take him to run errands with me?”
I was up grabbing clothes, socks and shoes before he had finished his sentence! (The house all to myself?! You don’t have to ask me twice!)
I don’t know if he passed on telling me that I was acting like a brat because it just wasn’t worth it or because he knows I have enough self awareness by now to realize when my behavior is less than appropriate. I like to believe he was thinking the latter of the two. Either way, he offered to remove distractions, giving me a few cherished moments of “me” time.
I’m a writer. When I’m not able to express myself through written word I feel unsettled with each day that passes. By the time a week has rolled around, I’m ready to implode. I covet the moments when my mind can spill out onto these pages with uninterrupted thought. In fact, there is absolutely no noise other than the tapping of the keys as I write and the intermittent crunching of almonds. Ahhhhhh, serenity now.
So, here’s the deal. I’m keeping my “Don’t ask me to do anything day.” I highly recommend that you do the same. Pick a day that works for you. And by day I mean, several hours, not 24. Oh, and leave out the childish fit, it’s not pretty. Trust me!
Even A Girl Like Me 
Good for you you for knowing what you need! Me time is crucial and I think you have every right to defend it!
It’s a necessity for me. When the mommy guilt creeps up I have to shut it down or it eats away at me.
I’ve never really been a “boundaries” girl (so to speak), so it’s good for me to carve out specific time to get lost in what I love 🙂
I’m like this with writing too. Doing it is healthy for me. Skipping it is not. The same way running is crucial for some people’s sanity maintenance. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow they are. They just need to run. So I feel okay about saying, “I need my writing time” whether I’m working on utter drivel or the Great American novel.
YES! I am in total agreement!
Personally, if I had claimed a day for my own and somebody who ought to have known it came along with ideas for what I needed to do, then I would not feel petty at all in telling him to go boss someone else around.
Well, I think it was the way I responded that was a little bit ridiculous.
He never bosses me around, just likes to get things done on our days off when I want to sit on my booty and do nothing but read and write. It’s a dance of compromise 🙂
My hubby can sense when I’m about to hit the wall and he somehow makes it happen that I can read for a couple of solitary hours or take a nap weekly. It is hard, though, to find that time with a busy young family. I’m glad that your hubby gave you some alone time!
He really tries to help keep me sane. Poor guy! He really didn’t sign up for all that I brought in to our relationship. I’m a lucky girl!
Oh, I want a do nothing day, too! I don’t see how that’s going to work, but you’ve given me a goal. Thanks for the idea.
It won’t work unless you make it 🙂
Good luck my busy friend!
Is it wrong that I am googling those almonds right now? And your husband sounds amazing as does your time to yourself.
Perfect read for me. My theme for today has been “You’re Not the Boss of Me.” Ellen
Nice. 😉
I knew from the title….. “I’m going to enjoy this” !! 🙂
Ha! Thanks Mark! 🙂
I’d love to have a “don’t ask me to do anything day” but sadly I can’t right. Just not right now. And when I do, I’ll remember to keep the teenage fit at bay LOL
You need one. Hopefully it will work out for you very soon, my friend.
Whoa! A whole day to yourself. I am SOOOOO jealous!
Such a fun read – thank you! Love the slippers and pajama pants, too. I also have a love affair with pink pajama pants. How did you get this cool message above that says, “1 out of 100 readers…” to appear there? It looks like we are using the same WP template.
Thanks! 🙂
The best part of the pants is that they say, “Because I said so!”
I was able to type in the comment about the section. Let me go back through the steps and I’ll get back to you shortly. What template are you using? I will get the name of mine too. I’ll look when I head on over to your blog.
Thank you so much! I think we are using the same template (Twenty Eleven?)
Did you see my other response with the info? I hope it worked!
We do have the same template.
Okay, here’s what you do…
Go to your dashboard–> Settings–> Discussion–> scroll to the bottom and you will see Comment Form. Where it says Prompt you can type whatever you want 🙂
Oh great, thank you!! I am totally going to try that.
Awesome! Let me know if it works 🙂
How great! I love afternoons like that. Minus the tantrum, of course. Though I do throw pretty good ones myself.
Of course! 🙂
This is great! I am not married, but when my cousin lived with me for a while it would drive me bonkers when I would just be settling in with snacks and a good movie, and he would come home and start fussing around. That was my time to be alone and have fun! I tantrumed on the inside 🙂
Haha. Well good for you for not acting like a brat like I did! I don’t hide my feelings well. I’m a work in progress for sure.
Oh yes, let me try that out on Kellie. It’s not going to work but it may make for an interesting post.
HA! Indeed 🙂
I love this!!! Adorable. You are my soul sister! 😉
😉