Great Expectations

Sometimes expectations get us in trouble. It was to be a time of solitude, this gray and drippy overcast day. There would be housework to do, but I would do it alone and I would enjoy the rare and precious solitude, and I did.

I am rarely alone in the house, so when there is no one else here, I savor the moments. I covet them. I do not want them disturbed or cut short. I like my time alone, and so when Rachel arrived with Mom at 12:15 pm I found myself suddenly distressed. I had just looked the clock and thought how I had a just few more hours to enjoy by myself, when suddenly it was over. How I came to think Mom wouldn't return until 3 pm, I no longer recall, but that was what I had tucked away in my mind. I thought it was what I had been told, but perhaps I am mistaken. Either way it took both Rachel and me by surprise and neither one of us had our expectations met. It isn't as though Mom is at my heels asking questions or needing help with something, so I am not entirely certain why the let down. (I do leave myself confused. No wonder my family doesn't know what to do with me!)

I suppose next time we should set a more fixed arrival time.