Saturday, August 05, 2006

Superpowers

If I were given the choice of any superpower, I would take being able to make everything just stop for a good 2 hours. No work projects to be done, no kids requiring food, bath, hug, etc., no house screaming for cleaning, no phone calls, nothing would pile up during those two hours. Would I use that time to try to get caught up on the million and one chores where I have fallen behind? No! I would use that time to sit, breathe deeply, be completely alone and just be still.

I am a solitary person by nature. Since I've added a husband and two kids to my life, solitude is endangered to the point of extinction. There is a part of me that misses when I was single, living on my own in a one bedroom apartment and could sit and be one with nothing. My two cats provided plenty of entertainment, even if the ugly one enjoyed nothing better than to start knocking things off shelves at 2 in the morning. Life was very easy then but definitely not as fulfilling.

My lack of alone time has been hitting me deeply lately. This probably explans why on Thursday, I got on the elevator at work with a cup of tea, a bag of popcorn and the hope that I would get stuck between floors. I might would have waited an hour or so before hitting the 'help I'm stuck in the elevator and reduced to pushing this button that calls some random call center where nobody can understand me' button. Our elevators break down every few weeks, and we're due for a breakdown soon. Alas, my elevator took me straight to my intended destination without even the hint of a technical difficulty.

A broken down elevator may be a poor substitution for time standing still superpowers, but I think I would take it as a reasonable second choice.

M.W.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I will admit I sometimes "hang out" in the bathroom just to squeeze 5 minutes of solitude. I totally hear ya sister.

Mayberry said...

One of the reasons I feel SO lucky to work at home. and why I sometimes love Mondays!