As a stay-at-home mom of two kids under five, my life is lived in a constant state of supervision, cleaning, protection, policing, yelling, comforting, cleaning, and laundry. I’m correcting behavior, wiping tears, carrying tots, fixing broken parts, and serving food and drinks on command. I’m always one long blink away from falling into a fast nap when I really need to be doing something productive. So you can imagine my jubilation when my mom offered to watch my kids for a week this summer… UM, YESYESYESYESYES! Did you mean two weeks, mom? Just checking!
Think of the possibilities of five days without kids. I’ve been plotting and dreaming about this span of time as if it’s going to be life changing. I’m going to FINALLY have time to work on updating my blog. I’m going to clean closets and take old clothes to consignment. I’m going to the movies. I’m going to day drink at the pool with friends… Hell, I’ll drink wine every night and sleep until 10! I’m going to work out for hours each day and get suuuuuuuuper skinny. All in five days, 100% doable. And I found out a couple days before that my husband had to travel all week so I was literally the only person in my house, aside from my dog. Talk about sweetening the deal even more!!!!! Amiright, ladies?!
I’ll tell ya, a kid free week is a revelation. Sure, I’ve gone on vacations sans kids several times over the last five years, but there’s something about a kid-free staycation that is beyond valuable. Think of how many things you always want to get done around the house but can’t because the kids rule your world? How many errands you can run without buckling and unbuckling car seats and dragging reluctant little hands around the stores.
Silence has been like music to my ears. Waking in the morning naturally, as opposed to being thrust out of bed by a door swinging open at 6 am and scaring the crap out of me has been like heaven on earth. Folding laundry and watching the news instead of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has been mentally stimulating — Donald Trump is running for president?????!!! Going to a 6:30 pm fitness class right smack in the middle of dinner time was liberating! Essentially, you don’t realize how amazing free will, spontaneity, and silence is until you have lost it for so long, and then suddenly it’s back, the revelation of it all is…eye opening.
I missed my kids on the first day I got home and they weren’t there. I’d fold a few last pieces of laundry left over from when they were here and I’d feel a pang of sadness. But by day two I was over it and relishing this new life.
I felt productive, cleaning out closets (made a quick $83 bucks at consignment!), and folding laundry as soon as it came out of the dryer. I cleaned the house, changed sheets, bought new plants, enjoyed nice long gym sessions, and prepared for my daughter’s 5th birthday party this weekend. And, I made some exciting plans for a new and improved Life At Thirtysomething blog, in which I intend to blog more regularly. I know that little nugget has you seriously pumped, lol!
Life without kids is… easy. Relaxing. Spontaneous. And most of all, peaceful. So it was especially jarring when Annabelle and Leo came barreling into my kitchen today, screaming MOMMYMOMMY and immediately uttering phrases like “I WANT” AND “I NEED.” My head started spinning and I remembered I was a mom of two kids under five and my current reality came crashing down around me like a curtain with the damn Wizard of Oz behind it. I quickly snapped back into mom mode and began making sippy cups, picking up dropped toys, and handing out iPads. Bwahahaha!!
My free time has come to an end. And to be honest, I’m not sure if it will even happen again by the sound of my mom’s daily ramblings of my 2 1/2 year old son Leo’s shenanigans. He broke two lamps, disrupted five nights of sleep, and got into my mom’s car and opened and closed the garage door a thousand times as my mom frantically searched for him after turning her head for a few minutes. I said to my mom on the phone; “So I guess this means Leo isn’t invited back to your house ever again.” And she replied; “Oh, he’s invited back……… when he’s 10.” I hope she’s joking, because I plan on making this a bi-annual thing.
In the end, I’m happy to have my kids back. Their sweet hugs and kisses fill up my cup, and their nagging calls make me feel wanted. I love my kids to the moon and back. And with that said; I eagerly look forward to my next week without kids. 🙂
LOL. I wouldn’t mind a kid-free week myself..
No kidding, Chris! I’d like one every other week, lol!