Today, Dad was leaving around 9:00 to go golfing with a friend, and Mom was being picked up by my sister to head to Short Hills Mall, which meant that poor Chappy was going to be alone for hours. Poor little guy! What’s a mother to do?

So, I took the day off from work.

Except … I didn’t tell anyone.

I mean, I told the people at work, of course. I told them I was taking a vacation day, and so THEY knew I wouldn’t be there.

But I didn’t tell anybody HERE. I got up at my usual time, ate my breakfast, made my coffee, and drove away just like any usual Thursday. Except instead of going to work, I went to a coffeeshop downtown. I bought some coffee and a croissant, and sat there with my netbook and added about 1,000 words to my book.

At about 9:30, I got back in the car and headed home. But … to be safe, I called first, and good thing, too, because Mom hadn’t left yet. So I pulled into one of the empty parking spaces around the corner and pulled out my iPod Touch and read for half an hour, and then drove home.

Chappy was SO happy. Ecstatic. Not only wasn’t he alone any more, but his Mommy was home super early for lunch! Not only that, I immediately started doing stuff in the kitchen. I baked a cake. I even descaled the kettle and soaked all our very tea-stained mugs in a combination of baking soda, lemon juice, and the vinegar-water I boiled in the kettle. I gave Chappy a much-needed haircut, too. We had a walk with Grandma after she got  back, too, after visiting with her and Patty for a while.

I even found time for a nap. How great is that, huh?

The irony is that I’m playing hooky today, the 25th anniversary of my graduating high school. June 17th, 1985. That seems an awful long time ago! It’s ironic, though, because I had perfect attendance my senior year in high school. I never once played hooky in school.

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