Bachelorhood Redux

Well, this morning, the girls left for Colorado with "Granny Sharon", Cathy's mom (one of the sweetest people I know). They will be gone for a whole week, leaving me here with two dogs and a fish..........the silence is deafening. I keep waiting to hear,"Daddy!" or "hey, Bear" or "Ouch! Stop it!"...but nothing. I have been alone in the house for a weekend before, and the first hour or so is sheer bliss...until that one moment when it really hits me that they're not here...and I truly miss them for the first time...and something deep inside yearns....until I realize that I have sole control of the television! Seriously, though, it's going to be a long week.