My husband left me this morning. This is not uncommon in our marriage lately. For about the past year he has been leaving me every three or four days. Apparently, he recieves some type of monetary compensation for his disappearance, I believe some people call it a salary. For that first hour or so that he is gone (all though this is a great improvement as it used to be an all day affair), I go into a denial thing. My head registers him leaving as though he was going to Linda's to get some milk. But then that reality hits. I get this grumpiness that settles on me. I find everything in my power to stop it, but inevitably, I get bored. So I just have to watch a movie or some form of tv show. A lot of times this coincides with the VIEW which makes me laugh. It tells me that it hits me about the same time every time. Then, after watching independent women talk about nothing for about thirty minutes, I feel enthused and recognize my own independence.

In the past the leaving for work for three days at a time has been placed conveniently at the same time as a test, paper or project that is due for school. Now, however, I am on break. I haven't had a break since last August. Well, before that actually because I was working up to the day I went to school. So I guess it was last July when I went with Sherry and the kids to Anna Maria Island for a week. So almost a year. That makes it the right time for another vacation. I would say I had Christmas break, but that was more of a run around and see every family member imaginable and work and anything else we could think of to squeeze in there in order to go back to school suddenly. Then there was the break between Spring Semester and Summer Semester that lasted two weeks in which I went to visit Mom, because it is always such a relief to visit Mom, and then thought Mrs. K, John's Mama, was dying. Oof. No break there. Thinking someone is going to die is excrutiatingly hard on the system.

So here I am. First day on a summer break. My husband leaves me and...I have nothing to study, plan, work on, go to, or do. My cabinets are all painted, my sun room established. My house is clean. Maybe the VIEW is on. Maybe not. Who would know that summer break would be so confusing.