Downtime

I have a few minutes… and nothing really pressing to do.

It’s Christmas Day.

My family celebrates on Christmas Eve.

Which means ~ that I have all this time, lovely glorious minutes, hours, and even days… to myself.

The children are all off to other family gatherings, well, except for OnlySon, but that’s because he’s still in bed, sleeping. The human bat, ladies and gentlemen! When on holiday, he is almost completely nocturnal, and only vacates his room when forced to by body functions such as consumption of nourishment and elimination of waste.

He will be going to his father’s later, and will spend the remainder of his school holiday there, sleeping away the daylight hours, and playing video games through the night.

The girls are both at their father’s, in another town. EldestDaughter will return, sans Toddler Tornado, later – or not – depending on her plans with her boyfriend. TT will be visiting his other grandparents for a few days, so will be out of the office as well. YoungerDaughter will be staying with her dad’s family for a few days, then returning to her apartment in the college town to go back to work for the rest of her holiday.

Which leaves me… *sniff, sigh, snort… giggle* all alone.

And… I’ve already taken down the tree.

I’ve cleaned up all evidence of gift-giving and receiving.

I’ve swept, swiped, dusted and washed.

And I’ve worked myself into my downtime.

Quiet.

No TV.

No radio.

No hollering, no crying, no requests or demands, or extraneous human speech.

Just the ticking of the clock, the humming of my laptop, and the clicking of the keys as I type.

Oh, and a couple of yawning cats.

Do I need a nap?

Hm.

No. I’m good.

Read a book?

Eh, not at the moment, although there’s one sitting next to me. (There’s always a book sitting next to me)

Movie? Nah, not in the mood.

So… I think I’ll just close up the laptop, slide back the curtains a little, and watch the evening roll in, slowly dimming the lights outside. Snow quietly melting, and the faint breeze fluttering the left-over leaves attached to my porch trellis.

Quiet.

Downtime.

Oh… how serene.