Mark's Away!

 

                Mark has been visiting family for the last two weeks. As always, with him gone, I am struck by how much I get done. I think it is because I have longer stretches of time to focus on the task at hand—answering emails, planting tomatoes, cooking dinner and washing the dishes….I work in larger chunks of time and, in the long run, spend less time online, at least.  I have been able to:

·         Mow  and trim the yard twice

·         Bump up 116 tomatoes

·         Tidy up the side yard

·         Keep the house clean and do the laundry down the street at the Laundromat

·         Eaten several amazing grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner

·         Answered emails in three accounts, read the news every evening, done some research on several subjects

·         Read several books and watched quite a bit of Call the Midwife

·         Had long, detailed conversations with at least one person every day

·         Added many rows to a knitted shawl

I have always loved living by myself; I can spend hours in my own mind, or reading or knitting, listening to the radio, watching the birds and talking to the cat. Every time, though, I realize that it’s not really healthy; I tend to obsess over controlling the small details of my space. I need someone around to keep me in balance.