Me Time

It is January 1, 2022.I decided to get away for some me time.My husband has been driving me crazy. We have 2 dogs, 13 chickens, a rooster, a peacock, a turkey, two ducks, two african greys, and an amazon parrot. My sister came to visit christmas eve and brought along her two puppies. Her boyfriend Marc talked her into giving me one of them. So I decided to go to maine.I decided to go to sugarloaf. I took a bus to Maine. Then I took a cab to the resort. It has a 4,237 foot summit. The ski village has winter gear stores, descent restaurants, and a slope-side hotel complete with an outdoor hot tub big enough for 30 people. I had never been sking before but once a year I like to do something I have never done. My first trip went ok, but on my way backI accidentally ran into someone I knew .I mean literally ran into him. His name is Charles. We lived together for about 3 years about 25 years ago. He was there with his girlfriend patricia. He has his own business now. He never married. We talked for awhile then I went back to my room. I built a fire in the fireplace and settled down for a cozy night by the fire to decompress. Adrian Slusser taught me how to build a fire when I was 18 years old. My husband would leave me and our baby daughter alone in freezing temperatures with no heat in the house. I guess he was so used to his mom doing that he didn´t give it much thought.

Adrian would stop and build a fire in the cookstove and chop some kindling. He taught me how to do it myself in case the fire went out. Strange the things you think about when you are alone. You go places you have not been in years.

Charles and I went to Massachusetts once to visit his friend from the air force. His name is Dennis. He left us stay at his house while he stayed at his parents. He was a great host. He was in a long distance relationship with a lady named joy. She was an antique dealer. She lived in christiana , pennsylvania. She would often come to visit Charles when I was not home. She would leave as soon as I got there. I often wondered if they were having an affair.

I brought a book to read ¨ the christmas plains by jimmy carter . I fell asleep on the couch, It was white. I could never had a white couch at home. Between my husband and my dogs, it would always be dirty.

I have been married 15 years now. Sometimes I wish I was single again.

I wandered around the shoppes my second day enjoying the fresh air. I bought a warmer coat and some leggings. It cost about $100. My husband gave me $180 so I would have some spending money, which surprisedme. I ran into Charles and Patricia at the restaurant. I decided to have lunch out. I ate a chicken ceasar salad. It was not bad but it could have used more parmesan. For one reason or anotherI was never comfortable asking for something in a restaurant.

I went back to my room and listened to elvis presley on my phone. I drank some white wine. I thought about how time slips away. How much he really did love Priscilla and thought she did not love him because she left him. I thought about their daughter Lisa and how messed up she was , in least in the mediaś eyes. I decided to watch some television. By this time i am really enjoying some alone time. I stayed up late watching a clint eastwood movie- paint your wagon. It is a musical. Clint is actually a pretty good singer and guitar player. I thought about how i feel like a claim to my husband. I feel like I am at the bottom of the totem pole no matter where I go or what I do. I slept in on my third day and i checked out at 11 am. I took a cab to Boston Logan International airport. I flew to baltimore. Then i took a bus to crisfield, Maryland.

When I got home my husband gave me a hard time because I did not give him any change. The next day he gave the dog a bath and I could not even take a bath because there was an inch of sand in my bathtub and it was too clogged. Samson still was not house trained so I was very stressed the next two days running around cleaning up after him and trying to keep him out of my stuff. By this time our older dog was tired of playing all day long and just wanted to rest.

I am still grieving my dad and my cousin passed away on December 28th and my husband keeps giving me more things to do. I think I am ready for another vacation. It rained the next two days sp the kids i babysit for did not have school, because it flooded. We live in a beach area and it floods very often. The flood gates have not worked properly for about 5 years now. I do not think they are in a hurry to fix them . Our house floods more than anyone on the block. It flooded about two months ago. Our power is still not fixed from that. I use a lamp and a flashlight to write at night. My husband and I sleep in separate rooms now for about 4 years. The little dog sleeps with him.The big dog sleeps with me. So now I have two weeks of laundry to catch up on. At least my husband did the dishes while I was away. He left a pile of silverware and two cups in the sink, the same ones I left when I went sking. I check facebook to see if Charles made any mention of seeing me. He has a daughter he was not even going to see because he was mad at her mother. I talked him into keeping his visitation. Now he is very close to her and has two grandchildren. His parents are both dead. His dad was a bus driver and got run over by his own bus. His mom was a homemaker and died of natural causes a few years agp. He has two sisters. He had a brother, but he died a few years ago of pneumonia. His brother was homeless. My husbandś brother would probably be homeless too if my father in law did not buy him a trailer to live in. His girlfriend died on December 15th,2021. My father in law is in prison now. He is accused of molesting his granddaughter. his lawyer was able to prove the one was lying, but the second one was a much better actress. My husband sends him $100 every month, so he can buy what he needs in prison. He calls him once a week. I used to send him cards, but the last time I did they sent them back. I paint sometimes. I just finished painting my neighbourś house. I think I need more practice. I am thinking of scheduling a trip to Alabama in the spring. I think I will be ready for more me time by then.

THE END