Having children changes you in so many ways. Not the least of which is your longing for any activity that does NOT involve your children.
1. Grocery shopping.
Take me to Publix. Take me to Walmart. Take me to the freaking flea market. It doesn’t matter where I’m going because the car will be quiet and there will be no requests for Pop Tarts or a feather duster as I glide through those glorious aisles. Just me and ma’ grocery list. All hail the #momcation a la a solo grocery shop.
2. Painting, cleaning out the garage, or any other sort of manual labor.
Like the time my husband and I argued over who would paint baby #3’s nursery. No joke. Because we each wanted a break from the other kids. (I won, of course.) So, I got to spend that entire Saturday alone. In the most glorious, kid-free den of paint-fumey amazingness. I closed the door (locked it too). And I cannot even describe the sense of satisfaction, as I watched my paint brush glide over each dingy wall in that tiny, 10-foot-by-10-foot room. Just me, my paint brush, a roll of painter’s tape and a ladder. It was glorious. And the great thing? Unlike a day of mothering (quelling tantrums, feeding children, cleaning messes), I actually had a finished product at the end of the day. Yes, something you could see! (That’s a whole other post.) But for now, I will brag and parade a picture of little man’s nursery. Accomplished after my most awesome day spent painting. All alone.
3. Going to the dentist, or the OB. (Or any appointment. Alone.) Literally, you know you’re the mother of 3 kids when you look forward to getting your IUD put in because it means your girlfriend will be watching your kids for 2 hours. Or, like when I got my teeth cleaned that Tuesday morning a couple months back, and the hubby was able to watch the littles. What? There are metal objects scraping my mouth and making my gums bleed? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. And, I might have just fallen asleep in the chair. Thank you, this has been heavenly. For all I know, I just spent a day at the spa. In fact, you really want to LOL? Legit, a #glowgirl recently told me she fell asleep while getting a Brazilian wax. Did you hear me? Fell. Asleep. While. Getting. A. Brazilian. Now, that is some good stuff. Only from a mother of young children.
4. Working out. Yes, working out is hard. Especially after your third kid (trust me, my baby weight and I totally get it). But for me, my early-morning workout is the only time of the day that I’m alone. And thus, it is beautiful. I would even go so far as to say it’s a sanctuary. That’s right. A mental sanctuary where I find peace and safe haven from the brutal mind-F that comes with being a mother some days. “Mom, I’m crying because I want a Band-Aid. Mom, it’s not the Elsa Band-Aid. Mom, my foot hurts now.” You. Cannot. Win. And so, for me, every morning, in order to ensure sanity, I leave my offspring with the husband at 5:35am. And that 14-minute drive to boot camp is my own little slice of Heaven. Do I turn the radio on? Nope. I simply open the windows, and lose myself in the humid early-morning breeze and the delicious and totally-intoxicating silence. My boot camp workout is my only all-adult conversation all day, after which I get back into my Suburban and roar home. When I pull into the driveway at some point between 7:03 and 7:11am (depending on which lights I hit and whether I stopped at Starbucks), there is a trail of kidlets running out the front door to greet me before I even get a chance to put the car in park.
Yes, I know it’s a beautiful thing. And yes, I know the years go fast. And yes, I do love my kids sooo much.
But sometimes, when you really love someone, you just need to let them go.
At least for the next 30-minute trip to the grocery store. #byekids
I know there are so many more to add to this list! Add yours in the comments.
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