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Other than a few shopping trips and a visiting friend, I have been alone the past few days.
My boyfriend has worked all three days I've had off. It's been just me, my cats (who, though affectionate, strangely aren't very conversational), my computer and the roar of the heater. I've been able to catch up on some DVDs that have been stacking up, play music loudly and eat whatever leftovers I can scrounge from the fridge. I've felt like a husband whose wife has gone out of town for a week. I haven't exactly accomplished much. But I somehow have found the quiet solitude of the house cathartic.
It reminds me of an old episode of Mad About You . I never watched the show but happened to stop on it one day while channel-surfing. In it, Helen Hunt's husband, Paul Reiser, got a contract job at the same place she worked. They traveled together, worked together, of course lived together -- they were around each other 24/7. Finally, both cracked, and they had an argument. Later, she declared, "I love you, I love you! But I can't stand being around you right now!" And in the perfect world of episodic TV, they made up and the show went on.
The oldie-but-a-goodie moral of the story was: It's healthy to spend some time away from your loved one every now and then, especially if you see each other all the time, so you appreciate him more when he's with you.
I've missed him tonight. I wish he were home now, spending time with me.