With Mother’s Day impending — and my allergies in full swing — I’ve taken to dropping hints about gift ideas besides bubble bath, scented candles and drugstore perfume. It’s not that I don’t like those things (at least the first two, that is) but they turn me into a stuffed-up mouth-breather until they’re all used up.

This year, I started hinting early that what I’d like most of all is simply the gift of time. Time to myself, time to read, time to putter in the garden or lounge on the deck. Time — what mother doesn’t want more of it? What homeschooling Mom ever has enough? Turns out, I gave myself an early gift of it. A whole lot of it, as a matter of fact.

My husband took yesterday day off work — a much needed break for him since his duties at work for the past two months have precluded a day off even when he had the stomach flu. With a three-day weekend, our family slid into a happily lazy pace marked by sleeping late, long afternoon naps and very little activity in between.

Until yesterday, that is. Suddenly, as if he’d felt guilty for the prior two days of rest, Hubby kicked into a whirlwind of productivity. (Not that I’m complaining, mind you.) He finished projects that had been languishing since autumn; he cleaned his workroom in the basement; he re-organized the storage room; he even repaired a hole in the wall that’s been there since July. It was awe-inspiring, and I loved it… until I realized why he was doing it all.

My in-laws are getting ready to visit.

Now, while I enjoy having them here, their visit — as with anyone’s arrival — means that I need to clean house. And that is precisely what I’d promised myself I would not do this weekend. No laundry, no vacuuming, no scrubbing, dusting, nothing. If Hubby could take a 3-day weekend, I’d reasoned, then I could too.

I watched him bustle around yesterday and felt a little guilty. He’d given up a full day to accomplish things, and I wondered if he thought that I should, too. But I stubbornly refused if for no other reason than some small part of me enjoyed watching him work while I rested for a change.

Last night, however, I went to bed with that sick feeling of having too much to do in too little time. With a shorter workweek, I had four days in which to juggle homeschooling, errands, regular chores and a full house-cleaning. I also had a good book that I wanted to stay up late to read, and so I promised myself that in penance I’d get up extra early each morning this week to clean two rooms before my son woke up for school. I’d turn in early, too, just to ensure I’d have the energy. And if worse came to worse, well, I’d make apologies to my in-laws and mutter something about being lucky to have clean dishes and sheets what with us homeschooling and all.

I was up at 6:15 this morning and begrudged that fact. The only good part of being awake at that hour (which I’d believed homeschooling ensured I’d never be awake to see again) is that I could enjoy a cup or two of coffee and watch the news before getting to my chores. I spent a few minutes with Hubby before he left, then dressed and bitterly shuffled to the calendar like I was going to the gallows. I looked at the date once, twice — and since I still could not believe it, I went and checked my phone and the date on the newspaper, too. I was so certain that I’d got the date wrong that I called Hubby on his cell phone and ignored his worried pause after I’d asked him to verify today’s date. (Hey, when you no longer write checks or have to regularly write the date next to your signature on documents, you often find yourself wondering what day of the week it is, much less what day of the month.)

Somehow, I had it in my mind that my in-laws were coming this weekend, which meant doubling up on my chores and finding time for a major trip to the commissary when my days are already over-scheduled. Somehow, I’d thought it was April 25 — not the 18th — and that I was facing a hellish week for having spent such a relaxing weekend, however much I needed it, too.

But I was wrong. Glory be, I was wrong!

The in-laws aren’t due until next weekend, which means my life just got far less hectic. I have ample time to get the house clean, and I might just be able to squeeze in an afternoon of gardening this week. As for time to read or lounge on the deck — well, with mornings being the worst time of day for allergies, I opted for a cup of coffee and a leisurely hour of reading in bed and it was sublime.

There’s nothing quite as sweet as starting the day off rejoicing…unless, perhaps, it’s also having the time to rejoice, too.