Yesterday I think Zale sensed that I was about to lose it. The girls have been on a screaming kick this week, things have been a  little tense with the teenager, the dogs are driving me crazy, I wasn’t able to go to my life group because of scheduling conflicts, etc. (Jill,  if you’re reading this, Noah wasn’t the cause, promise!) Zale stopped working around 2:30 and took the girls shopping, to the park, and to the green way to ride their bikes. I don’t know that I would even attempt to do that. Needless to say, I was very grateful. Noah took a nap while they were gone, I put the dogs up, and relaxed in the recliner for about an hour. It was so nice, but I still felt a bit on edge.

After Noah went home and we settled in for a typical evening I began to feel an even bigger need for some me time. So I asked Zale if he would mind taking care of everything while I rented a movie, got some food, and hid out in the bonus room for a couple of hours, completely ALONE. He’s such a wonderful and understanding husband that he immediately agreed and sent me on my way.

I really wanted some Mexican food and some Heavenly Hash frozen yogart. The Movie Gallery where we rent movies is in- between a wonderful Mexican restaurant and Kroger. But then I began to wonder how I could keep the food warm, the ice cream cold, and not spend a bunch of money. When I got to the shopping center I remembered that the Little Casear’s Pizza place just moved in that shopping center too. So as I’m getting my chick flick at Movie Gallery my game plan changed a bit. You know how they have the movie size candy at the movie rental places? I decided that would solve my sweet tooth, I could get a drink there too, and run into Little Caesar’s (where they have the pizza’s ready to sell and a large is only $5) for a pizza, and head back home. And that’s what I did. I got home with my pizza, candy (a package of Reese’s and Twix because I couldn’t decide which one I wanted, so I got both) a diet soda (diet instead of regular because if I’m going to consume a couple hundred empty calories I’d rather be chewing something, like chocolate) and a movie. I go to put the DVD in the player and discover that they didn’t take the security thing off so I couldn’t open the case. I started to get really frustrated about that, but decided I wasn’t going to let it ruin my alone time and got over it. Besides, there’s a microwave in the bonus room, so if my pizza got cold I could always  nuke it. I went back to the Movie store, where they fixed the problem right away, and then back home.

I had the perfect “me” night. Junk food and a movie with no interruptions. It was heavenly. But after the movie I realized I had probably consumed two days worth of calories in that two hours and started to feel a bit guilty about it. I got on the treadmill and walked a quick half mile before heading back down stairs.

I feel so refreshed, even today, as a result of that time. Thank you Zale, for making it possible! You rock! I was energized enough to get up early and walk another 1/2 mile this morning (even after very little sleep), as well as taking care of the dogs, vacuuming, and getting some laundry done. So husbands, if your wives are acting a bit stressed, it may just be that they need a couple of hours for themselves to do whatever they want to do. I’m quite sure she’ll appreciate it!