I have a half-whine today. I want to whine about this, but I know I shouldn’t, and I feel guilty and awful about even considering a whine, so I’ll sneak out my whine quickly and then cover it over with counter-whines as quickly as I can.

Every year my mum comes to visit for 5-6 weeks. She goes home in one week’s time…and I’m ready to get my life back.

Please understand, I love my mum. She is an almost perfect houseguest, she’s easy going, keeps her opinions largely to herself, and is a breeze to get along with. She’s active, we share common interests, and we even like the much of the same food.

She’ll be 80 this year and, even though she’s in excellent health, she lost her twin sister recently, and it made me painfully aware of how valuable our time is together. I’m lucky that she’s in good enough shape to be able to fly 6000 miles alone to visit, and I appreciate that my work affords me time to spend with her. I’m lucky. I know I’m lucky, so I’m just squeaking out a tiny whine.

But I’m ready to have my life back. I’m ready to spend time alone with my husband again, to lounge in bed on a Sunday morning, and to go for long walks and talk. I’m ready to throw myself back into work and hunch over my computer for the coming months. I have big plans for this year, and I’m ready to get them started.

And I think my mum’s ready to go home too, back to her garden, her friends, and her busy social life. Her gentleman friend’s phone calls are coming more frequently, and although he would never admit it, he’s probably missing her too.

So, it’s been a great visit, but it’s time for us all to get back to normal.

It’s Whiny Wednesday. Even though mine was just a half-whine today, feel free to let your full whines out, as needed.