I turned 34 on Sunday. Happy Birthday to me.
Only it wasn’t.
I did have a nice day, doing
things I love, but I returned home alone and found myself considerably
upset at the thought of going to bed in an empty house on my birthday.
So much so that there was a moment I considered
packing my bag and going to stay at my Mum’s, knowing she was also home
alone. But I knew that would result in tearful conversations, and the
possible beginnings of a habit. I’m officially a grown up, I need to be
able to spend a tearful lonely night alone
and be okay with it.
The reason I’m home alone on a Sunday
night is because my partner in crime has started a new job. An
opportunity he couldn’t pass up that just happens to be in another city.
As neither of us currently drive and the public
transport that’s available doesn’t get him there in time for work, he
is living there during the week and coming home at weekends. Now I know
we are not the first couple to ever be in this situation, and
undoubtedly we will be far from the last, but this is
tougher than I imagined it to be.
I encouraged him to take the
job. It really was the best move for him. But I’m beginning to realise
it was not the best move for me. Turns out I kinda like having him
around. But there are benefits to being home alone.
I can listen to my music loudly
and not be concerned about his distaste for my love of country. Or the
fact that I am like a small child and love to hear the same song or
album ten times daily. (I have had the Waitress
Original Cast Recording Soundtrack on repeat for about three months
now. LOVE Sara Bareilles.) And he finds the repetition just a tad
tedious.
I can have Coco Pops for dinner.
I mean, not everyday, but certainly once in a while and there is no one
there to judge. Not that he would judge, he’d probably join in and have
a bowl too, but if he’s home I will make
an effort to cook something nice that we will both enjoy, putting time
and effort into a semi-balanced meal. But without someone else to cook
for I can eat whatever I want. Be that toast, an ice-cream or a bowl of
coco pops. Or all three.
The T.V is mine and mine alone!
No one else’s tastes to consider when I’m looking for a movie or a new
series to binge. I don’t have to dismiss something if its too girlie or
there’s too much singing in it, and I don’t
have to spend an age figuring out what to watch of an evening. Only I
still do. Turns out I’m indecisive enough on my own without having to
consider someone else’s opinions and tastes. Even without having to find
something we’re both in the mood for it still
takes several false starts before I find something I actually
want to watch. (I’d recommend Set It Up. Watched it on my own while
drinking tea and eating cake, thoroughly enjoyable night. Silly sweet
predictable rom-com. You know the type.)
On the flip side, there is no
one there to converse with, no one to act silly with. No one to share a
bar of chocolate with – I eat his share now as well as my own. I look
after myself better when I have someone else
to care for. I eat healthier when he’s around because I want him to eat
well. I go to bed earlier because I know he needs his sleep as he has
an early start and gets groggy without his full seven hours. I put my
book down and turn the light off, encouraging
him to do the same so that we actually go to sleep. And it goes both
ways, he had an earlier start so I would get up when he got out of the
shower, and I would always leave the house by 7:30, be in work for 8:15.
On evenings that I didn’t get home until late
he’d have dinner sorted, or at least planned. Now I’m by myself I
believe I know my limits and how far I can push myself, but since he
moved I have been uncharacteristically late to work at least once a week
because I tell myself ‘just one more chapter’ the
night before. And I’ve already mentioned how fantastic my dinner skills
are.
I keep telling myself this is
temporary. We’re going to be in the same city soon enough. I have high
hopes that I will be offered a job in the same city as him within 6 months, but until then I have to endure living alone
temporarily. He’s just glad he doesn’t have to endure Jane The Virgin any more.