To be completely honest, the thought did cross my mind for more than a few seconds. I almost went ahead and did it.

Let me set the scene before going any further. My wife and daughter went away for a few days to visit friends. I had the whole house to myself, a situation I get to enjoy a few days a year.

I do miss my family when they go on these kinds of trips, but I also enjoy getting in touch with the side of me which is normally suppressed due to rules about cleaning up after myself and making sure everything goes in its place.

Because Maria had not completed the living room painting project, the house took on a completely different feel this time. I think I took more liberties with my messiness because of this situation.

I’m not allowed to help with painting projects – it’s a long story – so I could really do nothing about the minor changes to the room.  Some furniture still sat pushed to the middle of the living room. A paint can sat on some newspaper in the corner. None of the windows had any curtains.

As I sat on the couch the first night, I realized that the minor amount of disarray seemed a little confusing. It felt like I had just moved in or had seen some other major life change. The lack of curtains and area rug covering the hardwood floor made the biggest difference.

That’s when I started to think of the possibilities. Spending time home alone always leads to massive amounts of grilling, staying up too late and not making the bed. This time, however, something better came to mind.

In the end, I decided not to go through with the plan. Sure, I have plenty of pairs of white socks which would allow me to slide across the living room floor.  I could easily pull off that part of the performance.

But I didn’t have a Bob Seger CD or a pink button-down shirt, and the lack of curtains on any of the windows prevented me from parading around the living room in my tighty-whities. I have some sense of decorum.

My time alone diverged from the plot of “Risky Business” in pretty much every way possible. When I get some time to myself, I don’t plan on having wild parties and going on crazy adventures. But I do try to plan some activities which might not otherwise fit into my daily routine.

When push comes to shove, I rarely do any of those things. I have to work (and always chicken out of calling in sick to have a day to myself) and ultimately end up on the couch with a simple dinner and a few beers before falling asleep. Staying up until midnight on a weekday is about as crazy as I get.

Things may change next time. I might just pull the carpet back, download some Bob Seger and mimic one of my favorite movie scenes. I’ll shut the curtains first though.