This is a story about how my husband and son went on a vacation, and I stayed home, by choice, because I wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet and truly relax. Now that’s a vacation!

School is out and we are officially in the season of summer vacation, which reminds me of a great vacation I took last year when my family went to Ireland, and I went absolutely nowhere.

Granted, I have been to Ireland many times because my husband’s parents are from Limerick, so if they had been going somewhere new like Japan, I’d probably have jumped on it. But we had just returned from a vacation in Yellowstone and I wasn’t ready to travel again and suggested my husband take our son to go meet up with his family and just leave me home.

I needed time to chill out and catch up after being gone for a week and staying home alone in a quiet house sounded pretty incredible. So, I dropped them off at the airport, wished them a lovely vacation, and headed home to do whatever the heck I wanted for the next seven days.

Home Alone

I made zero plans for my week alone. My husband kept suggesting I make plans to meet up with friends and go out, but I wanted to stay home and just soak up all the “me time” I could. I did not want to waste a moment of this rare opportunity to be truly alone in my house.

If I sound a little obsessed with being alone, it’s because I grew up an only child and am used to being by myself and doing my own thing. Adjusting to being a mom and constantly tending to someone else’s needs was quite an adjustment.

I also have a very noisy house. My husband, son and dog are all noisy and as much as I love my family and all their (mostly) happy noise, I need silence and solitude to recharge.

Enjoying My Staycation

So, what did I do on my staycation of solitude? Everything and nothing.

I woke up when I wanted and went to bed when I wanted. I took naps whenever I wanted.

I made nobody dinner. In fact, I ate microwaved meals for dinner on most nights.

I played as much Nintendo as I wanted without anyone bothering me.

I cleaned the house, and it stayed clean.

I read during the day, by the nice quiet pool.

I wore my pajamas past noon.

I binge watched TV shows that were inappropriate for kids and watched them on the big TV.

I got all caught up on all my work.

And by the 4th day, I started to miss the noise.

It’s nice to have time to yourself, but I did miss my family and looked forward to them coming home. I was ready to go back to being a mom and a wife in a boisterous busy house.

But I’m glad I had that time to myself because it gave me a chance to appreciate everything my family brings to my life, noise and all.

About the Author

Candy Keane is a digital content creator and long-time cosplayer, most well-known for being on the cover of the Star Wars documentary Jedi Junkies. After making costumes professionally for over a decade, she now writes about about geek culture and mom life, and continues to cosplay for fun, while sharing her love of costumes on Instagram @SewGeekMama. Her first children’s book, I’m Going to My First Comic Convention, was published in 2020 and won a Story Monsters Approved award for Excellence in Literature.

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