One of the things that I miss most from
the time before I was a mom, and before I was married (which was so
long ago that I had a pet dinosaur named Chompy) was having time by
myself.
I confess that I am actually all by
myself as I am typing this. However, I am constantly staring at the
little clock at the top of my screen to make sure I pick my daughter
up from school on time.
So, to be more specific, I miss having
stress free, unscheduled
time by myself. I miss being able to do what I want without the
constant sound of a ticking clock reminding me that I have to drop my
daughter off or pick her from school,a play date, a class ...
I miss eating crappy (but tasty), food
in front of the television, right from the pot or container, without
feeling guilty about not setting a good example. Granted, I can
still do some of these things, but that requires me to wait until my
daughter goes to bed – so I miss being a messy sloth at a
reasonable hour.
And no, I do not actually hate date
nights, but sometimes I just cherish the thought of not being with
the kid AND NOT having to talk to someone more. I just do not want
to think about or plan conversations (we have to or else we end up
spending the entire evening talking about the kid). Besides, date
nights usually involve planning, they require dinner reservations, or
movie/show tickets, which means we must agree to a movie and a time;
and even without these things, dates require booking a babysitter
(sometimes this must be done months in advance...).
Alone time involves a bowl of food, of
some sort, pyjamas and a television remote – no child care is
needed because the other parent has the kid.
So now, every once in a while, for the
sake of my sanity, I ask my husband to take the small child out for
the day or evening. I like to tell myself that I am doing this
because it is good for them to have some daddy and daughter time.
In reality, I use this time alone to
recharge my batteries. Sometimes I even miss them a little bit. Now
if missing them a little, along with a little break, allows me to be
a better and more attentive parent, can you imagine what a wonderful
parent I will be if I get a week off!
(To be honest, there is no way I will
last a week without my family, but a night or two is worth a try...)
