I came up for air today, after what feels like years of being overscheduled, pressured and stressed.  It’s not so much that my new job means I have less to do.  If anything, I’ll have more responsibility.  But I’m not responsible for anyone else’s work, and that is huge.

I woke up and did a little work for a client in my home office, and then unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned off the kitchen counters, cleaned the bathroom and did the first of about eight loads of laundry.  After PC got up, I stripped the bed and threw the sheets in the wash.  PC and Rabbit tidied up in the living room, and then PC made lunch while I did some more work on the computer.

After lunch, PC and Rabbit went to the park with a friend of PC’s who has three little kids.  I went to a nearby town where one of my listings has a sign that had tipped over in the yard.  I checked on the house, righted the sign, and then drove back toward home.

I stopped for groceries, filling an entire cart and replenishing our supply of detergent, hand soap, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables, pasta, beans and cereal.  It’s hard to describe the reason why this made me so happy, especially when it meant spending $153, but maybe it’s just that this used to be my Saturday routine, and for over a year, I wasn’t really in the habit of taking care of my house and family this way on a regular or sustained basis.

I’m nowhere near caught up at home, but at least I’m making progress.  I feel like I’m returning from an extended overseas tour of duty, and now I have to reclaim my territories at home.