Holiday Blues

It is holiday time for us government types. The whole week is one long holiday if one was smart enough to put in the leave requests in advance. Starting from last Sunday to the next Sunday the whole week is one big blast. But not for me. That is because we don’t really celebrate the festival (Diwali is important) and the other reason is that all my bosses have gone for the holiday leaving me to hold the fort. So I am trudging to the office every alternate day and spending the time doing practically nothing because there is no one in the office to send me files to sign.

Also, around this time, the family leaves me to my fate and goes away to my in-laws. So I am practically left alone to fend for myself. But I enjoy this solitude as it is an opportunity to do whatever I want to do which is, read and write. The house is empty, the television is mine and I can go out and come in whenever I want to. (not that I cannot do all these if my family is there) I am the only one in the house so it gets a bit lonely sometimes. I miss my kid’s constant questioning and my better half’s hustle and bustle. A day without them is okay but not three or four days. But that is how long I have to be alone.

I use the loneliness to think and retrospect. But with the revision of the manuscript weighing on my mind I haven’t found time to think much or retrospect, either. I am wondering whether to take part in the Nano this year or not. I still have half of the novel I had begun last year to complete. If I finish it I would have another book written, my second one. That is a comforting thought, a second book ready to be shown to anyone who bothers to ask. NaNo is another three weeks away and I have time until then to decide.

Also, this enforced loneliness gives me the chance to eat wherever I want. I have breakfast one day at one place, lunch at another place and dinner elsewhere. Of course, my brother asks me to come home to eat but I give vague excuses to eat out. After a couple of times eating out it begins to get boring, and I long for some home cooked food however badly cooked. I long for my family to come back. An enforced solitude like this is enough to remind everyone how important the family is to keep body and soul together.