Freedom! ! ! !

Well, not total freedom . . . but how about 24 hours of it?

I'd say that's a pretty good start.  Other than a few hours here or there, I haven't had a real break in about two years . . . and back then, it was only a break from the kids to leave them to be on duty or go underway. 

So, it started on Wednesday, when Dad asked me if I had any plans for the weekend.  It was Wednesday.  I hadn't even thought about my plans for Thursday after school yet.  He said that he and Mom may take one or both of the boys for a night.   Wait . . . what?  Really?  Yes, really.  Confirmation was made on Thursday.  So, Friday after bowling, I did laundry, cleaned the house, and packed their bags.  When I picked the boys up from daycare, we hit the road.

The plan was to drop them off, and then have my own time.  From Friday afternoon, I would have until Saturday, just before dinner . . . Family dinner, together, and then go home.

I was worried that the boys wouldn't go to bed . . . or they would talk back or pick fights.  I was worried that I could bring plenty of clothes and books, but they wouldn't be able to sleep because I forgot something . . . In reality, it went great!  It was twenty-four hours.  It may have gone by pretty quick, but to someone who has only had school time, and a few hours of babysitting, it was a very nice, long, and wonderful twenty-four hours!!

After I dropped the boys off, I met E.  He may not be in my neighborhood, but it's only a hop, skip and a jump from Mom and Dad's neighborhood. . . . So we had dinner.  

Let me break here and ask why the best Mexican restaurants always seem to be a hole-in-the wall . . . The chains are good in their own way - like Chevy's - but there's just something about those little places that so rarely even get on the map.  Okay, anyway . . . back to Friday night.

We had dinner, and it was good.  Had to hurry it up at the end, but somehow the waiter was always right there whenever I tried to get his attention.  So we hurried.  E drove fast, parked not too far away, we walked fast, and then . . . had to wait in a looong line.  Oh, well.  We got our tickets and got in to the theater in perfect time.  We saw Dear John.  If you ask E, he would tell you that it sucked.  I won't.  I like chick flicks, and I seem to be a fan of the movies written from Nicholas Sparks' novels (A Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook).  It was a good movie.  I will say that the ending could use some work . . . but the characters, the story, the movie . . . I liked it.

The rest of my free time seemed to be over in a flash. . . . but I enjoyed all of it, and I'll be looking forward to the next time.  I don't expect it to be next week, but I am still excited because I know that it won't be two years from now . . .

So, for the good news?  The boys did great!  That's why I know I don't have to wait two years to do this again!  There was no fighting, no crazy.  They even went to bed good.  Makes me feel good . . . up until it's time for us to go home and they start acting up.  What is that, really?  I know they were overtired, but seriously.  Let's end on a high note instead of going downhill at the end . . .

Well, for now, that's it.  The weekend is only half over, but if tomorrow were Monday, I would be happy.  I know that the second half of the weekend can't get better than the first.  Time for bed now, so I can recharge and be ready for tomorrow.  I don't have any plans.  Just gonna wing it.

That's it.  Peace and Bed, y'all . . . .