I was momentarily confused about why an alarm had gone off, but then remembered that he was going on a road trip with his Dad to look at 4-H pigs for our nephew. (Maybe a post for another day).
I leaned back and shut my eyes for a few more hours. When I awoke for real, I was faced with a day to do whatever I wanted, home alone.
Since we moved last summer, I've been adjusting to the sounds of our new home. We hear our neighbors' doors open and close, occasional footsteps above us, and sometimes a dog barking outside in our common area. Our washing machine and dryer make sounds. The dishwasher makes sounds. Our 1950's constructed townhome makes sounds just settling or creaking as people move about.
The sounds used to scare me or make me feel paranoid. Sometimes I still jump at a knock on my neighbor's door, thinking it's our own, but now the other sounds have become sort of comforting. Even when I'm technically in my home alone, I know that the little sounds I hear from my neighbors mean that I'm not totally alone.