alone

I see others out there like me. Others who drop off their kids at preschool and are blissfully kid-free for 2 hours and 45 minutes, two or three times a week.

Have you seen us?

We’re the ones with laminated numbers dangling from our rearview mirrors or stuck to our car windows, numbers that correspond with our preschooler for car line pick up later. We’re the ones peeling through the neighborhoods in our shiny minivans and SUV’s, disobeying speed limits and barely coming to a complete stop… anything so as to not waste a single precious minute of kid-free time. We’re the ones sprinting through the assorted stores, not making eye contact with anyone for fear we’ll see someone we know and have to stop and chat, thus dipping into our precious alone time. We’re the ones hauling a huge stack of clothes to the dressing room, not because we need anything, just because WE CAN… after all, we’re alone, alone, alone!  Buying a pack of gum and not having to share it! We’re the ones rockin' out in our cars, happy to turn off the kids DVDs . Rolling down the windows since there’s no one to complain about it being too windy or too sunny. 

And we're the ones, taking a deep cleansing breath as we get into car line for pick up, feeling fresh and rejuvenated again, at least for a little while.