Morning Revelrie

The alarm clock cuts through the dark and silent cocoon of my sleeping haven.  I am jolted out of my peaceful escape.  As I nudge my husband with a not-so-gentle reminder to hit the snooze button, I roll over and desperately try to hold on to the blissful sleep that was just robbed from me. 

Before long, I am surrounded by my faithful furry companions – the cats are awaiting their breakfast and the dog needs his time outside before his breakfast.  But for just a few more moments, we all snuggle together in the warm cocoon of the bed.

Just a few minutes before I reluctantly pull the covers back and throw my legs out of the bed, I am hit with a wonderful realization – today is Friday.  This is the day that leads into the weekend…one of the rare weekends for which we have made no plans.  At this thought, I am overcome with a warm calmness.  In mere hours, I will return home from work to absolutely no obligations.  I will be free for two days!

The weekends that have no organized plans tend to be rare for me.  My husband and I are firm believers in getting out and seeing whatever there is to see in our area.  We visit the national parks that are at our back door (we're blessed with three!) and check out other things around town.  Last week, at the last minute, we decided to embark in a whirlwind drive from Manteca to Death Valley.  The weekend before was spent hiking in the great Kings Canyon, and the weekend before that we traversed the Tioga Pass over the Sierra Mountains to see an amazing volcanic formation of basalt pillars known as Devil's Postpile.

My mind starts to drift over the days of the upcoming weekend.  The weather has been absolutely wonderful as of late.  Crisp autumn days with stunning blue skies to frame the changing leaves.  I can put in some much needed time in my garden – that beloved escape of mine.  Hubby can indulge one of his favorite hobbies – working on his project car. There will be some standard chores…groceries need to be purchased so that we have food for the upcoming week, of course I will need to visit the garden center to purchase supplies for my weekend spent in the garden, and the house could use a thorough cleaning. 

But those chores can be spread out over the weekend – they don't have to be completed with a sense of urgency.  I don't have to get out of bed…I can sleep in until my natural alarm clock gently nudges me.  And if that doesn't happen early enough, the furry ones aren't too shy about giving mama the nudge that she needs to get out of bed and put some food in their bowls.  ;)  But the important thing…the thought that fills me with that warm and calm sensation, is that we have a weekend to our selves…one that we can use to indulge ourselves and rejuvenate our minds and spirits.  Those are the best weekends!