Daycation: Alone Time With An Extrovert

After a long couple of weeks with late nights and traveling, I took Friday off to get some errands and appointments done without #gingerbaby. I'm an only child, so flying solo should be my thing. But alas, I'm an extrovert. Being alone with my thoughts is like trying to meditate at a rave party. Apparently my alone time capacity is equal to a Target run and a potty break (see A Tale of A Childless Target Run). Daycation Agenda:

1am: Cooper doesn't want me to miss a minute of my daycation, so he wakes me up at 1am. We don't co-sleep regularly, but I refuse to do the up-and-down thing all night. On the off-chance he wakes up in the middle of the night, we bring him into our bed. I also don't call it co-sleeping because that implies multiple parties are actually sleeping. I read this article about a 7-person co-sleeping family bed. God bless these people. Anyways, I receive a five-hour foot-face massage from my son. It consists of light to medium kicks in the face with the occasional round-house kick to the throat. Invigorating.

Tiny bed thief

7am: New daycare visit with Matt and the kid. As he gets older, we need to make sure he's getting the education he needs to be the next Steve Jobs...but hopefully more like Jay-Z, that would be way cooler. The place was clean, the kids were alive, and they teach four languages. Sold.

8am: Drop off at Nona and Pops' (my mom and dad) house. Lose track of time talking to my mom about the new daycare. Run out the door in a hurry and leave my wallet in the kitchen. Drive a mile before realizing it. Curse all the curses on my way back.

8:45am: Run to the doctor's office at Maple Grove Hospital. Shit I'm out of shape. Sweaty and heaving, I check-in. I've said it before in #Gingerbaby: An Origin Story, but I love Dr. Manneh at Oakdale ObGYN. If you have to get a pelvic exam, do it here.

10am: Fading fast. Have I had my coffee yet this morning?

10:15am: Meeting with Perry the Painter for an estimate on the house. Right now it's a warm diarrhea color. We hope to get out of the toilet shades in the spring.

Poop.

11am: OK I'm bored. Being alone is not for me. I'm going to go to Gap to buy some new pants and then spend some quality time with those pants.

11:30am: Inferior pants, we cannot be friends.

12pm: I think this may be my third coffee.

1pm: I call my mom to see if I can come hang out with her and Cooper. She tells me to leave them alone and find something to do with my day off. Rude.

1:15pm: I just have to make it to 3:30pm, when I have a meeting with actual humans.You can do this Alex.

Perfected my Bitmoji during a low point of boredom

1:30pm: For the next two hours, I spend time driving to furniture stores, taking pictures of chairs and sending them to Matt. Like real-life Pinterest.

Home>Living Room>Chairs

3:30pm: Finally, real-live people to talk to. I spend the next hour talking to boss ladies about boss lady things.

5:00pm: It is now deemed a reasonable time to pick up Cooper. But first, wine. As I catch up with my mom over a glass of pinot and some Duplo blocks, I reflect on my need for human contact. I don't find solace or gain energy in alone time (with the exception to a focused run to Target). I'm a hugger, a talker and I love group activities. I don't know how Matt, my darling introverted husband, puts up with me. I'm comfortable with this shortcoming...as long as I can talk about it with someone!

Cooper just turned one, so he still listens to my every word- an only child and parent's dream. As he nods off to sleep in the car, I tell #gingerbaby how he's destined for a life of fulfilling conversations and wonderful friends. And if he's anything like me, he'll call his mama everyday.