Sunday 15 November 2020

Me time


What a golden opportunity it is when your partner goes away for the day or the weekend or even the week (and takes the children if you have any). Suddenly you have a nice big chunk of me time and you can do absolutely anything you want, free of the usual chores and obligations. Unmitigated pleasure and self-indulgence awaits.

Except of course that it seldom works out that way. Instead of all the unmitigated pleasure - long country walks, starting the new box set, trying those exciting new recipes, tackling that online course on everyday life in the Middle Ages - you find yourself spending the time quite differently. Hours have unaccountably sped by as you:

  • Plucked your nasal hairs
  • Looked again for the missing screwdriver
  • Placed online orders for stuff you don't need
  • Watched yet another endearing cat video
  • Cleaned behind the taps
  • Pondered why letter boxes are red
  • Adjusted all the crooked pictures
  • Purged all the socks with holes in
Then when your partner returns, along with all the old distractions and expectations, you kick yourself for not having used your precious me time more intelligently. And you dream of the next chunk of me time when you really really will make good use of it and not arse around like a ten year old.

To rub it in, your best friend gleefully recounts all the brilliant things she did during her own recent me time while her girlfriend was at a conference in Budapest. It seems she barely had time to sleep.

After that it's back to business as usual, and you find the missing screwdriver down the side of the fridge. And all the pictures are crooked again. And there's a nasal hair you somehow overlooked.

22 comments:

  1. I have more me time than anybody else that I know. I know exactly what I want to do with that and have no regrets whatsoever when the me time is over.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ramana: Indeed, you have as much me time as you could possibly want!

      Delete
  2. I have plenty of Me Time, as even when my spouse is home, we tend to do our own thing,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bijoux: Jenny and I also tend to do our own thing, but even more so when one of us is absent!

      Delete
  3. Nothing wrong with being a ten year old again! I'm appalling when left on my own - even less gets done than usual.
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ms Scarlet: Certainly when it comes to our shared jokes, they're usually at the level of a ten-year-old! Excruciating puns, we gottem.

      Delete
  4. For years the only 'me' time I had wss on a 'plane crossing the Atlantic. Cattle class, of course, but at least no one wanted me to do anything for ten hours at a stretch.
    Still, as you point out, I would probably waste it if I had it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fly: If that was the only me time you got, you must have truly appreciated it while it lasted! Except that all you can do on a long flight is waste time!

      Delete
  5. LOL! odd but enjoyable post Nick!
    except for 'nose hairs' thankfully haven't ever had to remove those. sounds extremely painful. ewww!!! xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tammy: Removing body hair can be painful. Yet we expect women to be free of the stuff.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. John: But you seem to enjoy all the attention from your blogmates, workmates and friends. Not to mention the furry faction....

      Delete
  7. Andy and I both have plenty of me time. He goes up to the land to putter on his projects, I do a lot of various exercises (flexibility, balance, some weights and resistance bands, walking on my treadmill, etc.) in front of videos I stream. We both gave up the idea of being productive long ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jean: Yes, you two have infinite me time to do whatever you want! I admire your daily exercise regime, my only exercise is a ¾ hour daily walk.

      Delete
  8. Nasal hair hmm. I have loads of me time nowadays, but I know what you mean about stuff getting in the way of carefully planned nothing time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Polly: You seem to fill your me time with all sorts of interesting activities - like making dolls' houses and touring historic homes.

      Delete
  9. Loads of me time all the time which is great.

    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, and you've made full use of it on your lengthy trip up north!

      Delete
  10. My husband and I have been retired for over 20 years and manage to do quite well with "me" time even living in a single floor apt now, but it was the same when we lived in a house. We've learned that each has his/her own interests and can spend an entire day engaged in whatever that may be at the moment with limited interaction or conversation. Then there are days when we spend "together" time day tripping or doing day-to-day things like shopping, mostly to a grocery store now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beatrice: That's a bit like me and Jenny. We can seal ourselves off from each other for hours on end to pursue our own interests, and then come together at other times. Especially easy in this very large house of ours.

      Delete
  11. Living alone, I don't lack for "me" time. I do recall in year's past when that wasn't true. We never have enough "me" time when we need it and then we get too much of it when we don't need it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joared: Very true. I never had enough me time when I was working, but now I'm retired I have a surfeit of it!

      Delete