Craig Daily Press

Christina M. Currie

Christina M. Currie's Touch of Spice column appears Fridays in the Craig Daily Press. E-mail her at director@craig-chamber.com

Craig — I’m five days into a seven-day stretch without kids.

I look sadly around my house, noting it’s in the exact same state it was when my 6- and 7-year-old girls left.

I have not been home a single evening since Friday. It seems like I’ve packed every meeting, every game and every social engagement into one week.

When people find out my kids are gone for seven days, a look of horror crosses their face. They solicitously ask, “Are you OK?” using the same tone they would use if I said I’d been in a car wreck. “Don’t you miss them terribly?”

Ummmm. I really hope this isn’t one of those defining moments that instantly labels me a bad mother, because this is real sketchy territory.

Just the fact that I paused has some people dialing the first three numbers of social services and holding their finger over the last number, just waiting to see what I was going to say.

A friend suggested I say “Yes, it’s horrible, but I do what I can to make it through.”

I’m going to hold that in reserve, but I’m not very good at just flat-out lying.

The truth is, I look forward to this break all month long. Yes, I love my girls. Yes, I miss seeing and hearing them. Yes, I can’t stand not knowing the daily details of their lives.

But, I also love working late with impunity, having the flexibility to go out and have dinner, coming home when I want and making plans that don’t include dragging the girls to another meeting or finding last-minute child care.

I also love that when I’m tired, I just go to bed. No bedtime ritual. No getting a last minute glass of water. No using those hours between their bedtime and mine to do dishes and clean up (although I obviously should).

The best part is how calm my mornings are. There’s no yelling to hurry. There’s no getting up an hour early to get them dressed, combed, brushed, fed and off to school. It’s truly magical.

I also enjoy quiet evenings with the television off (not that I’ve had that chance much this week).

Don’t get me wrong, my girls are fabulous, and they’re so good that I can catch a quick nap or work on a project when they’re around, but I revel in feeling like, for seven days, I have absolutely no responsibilities.

No worries about what’s for dinner (tonight I’m going to pick up some chips, cheese and jalapeños for a healthy meal of nachos — admit it, you’re jealous), no concerns about who has to be where when, no making sure that I’ve brought enough distractions so they’ll sit quietly through a meeting and no worries that they’ll drop someone else’s kid that they’re hauling around the bleachers during recreation league volleyball.

I get all those things, plus the knowledge that they’re safe and happy.

What parent can ask for anything more?