Nearly every stay-at-home-mom I know has the same basic wish: a few minutes of quiet. And while no one would say no to a trip to the spa, there’s something especially rare and desirable about time alone in your own house. M is good about trying to take the kids out on the weekends, and that sometimes gives me an hour or two, I really have not had any extended amount of quiet time in my own home since the kids were born.
Enter this weekend.
My in-laws are around. They were insistent that they take the kids for the weekend so M and I could do something fun.
I was weirdly uneasy about it. Not sure exactly why, or if any reasons I could come up with were at all rational (worried about the driving, in particular). But eventually we came up with a plan we agreed on: my in-laws would take the kids up to a friend’s lake house in New Hampshire for the weekend. There was talk of them staying here while M and I went somewhere, but I’m all traveled out. I just wanted peace and quiet in my own house.
The packing up to go on Friday afternoon was a little rough. Daniel was noticeably anxious, clinging to a stuffed turtle when he normally has almost zero attachment to such things. Both kids wailed as I moved the carseats into their grandparents’ car. “I want you to come with us” was the cry. I gave hugs and reassured them, but mostly tried to keep moving and not look at them too much, so I wouldn’t start crying, too. They calmed down once they were in the car and knew they were hitting the McDonald’s drive-thru once they got on the road.
I went inside and cried. I tried to take a nap, but couldn’t. I sat like a lump, aimless, clueless what to do with my freedom. I cried a few more times, maybe because I don’t usually have the physical or emotional space to cry these days. M got home early. We went out for sushi. Came home, passed out.
Saturday came. I woke up on my own terms. I went to the gym without needing childcare. I stopped at Starbucks without ordering two chocolate milks. I sewed and listened to NPR and let M sleep until noon.
We purged the playroom of outdated (or particularly annoying) toys. We got two Bagsters, filled them both to the brim, and our garage went from “you can’t even walk in here” to “hey, I bet a car would actually fit in here!” Exciting stuff, I know. But the kind of thing we never seem to get around to doing when the kids are around.
We went out for sushi a second night in a row. Hell yeah.
Reports from New Hampshire were nothing short of glowing. Everyone slept well. Almost no tears (I mean, come on, they’re still three). Storyland. Swimming in the lake. Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes for breakfast.
Alright. I admit it. We should REALLY do this more often.
And now, it’s 4:15 on Sunday afternoon. The kids are on their way home, and I’m glad.
A big thanks to Grandma and Papi. We needed that.
that sounds nice.
and fyi: i could probably eat sushi every night
April recently posted..Mom Jeans
How wonderful! I really, really would love a morning to just sleep-in in my own bed without hearing my children as my alarm clock. My MIL has talked about having the kids do a sleepover at her house, which sounds great, but I’m not yet convinced that they’re ready yet (they being my kids AND the grandparents). Still, I have it in the back of my mind that that will happen someday. And when it does, I hope T and I will take full advantage of our freedom at home.
Sushi… yum…
reanbean recently posted..Bye-Bye Summer!
Sounds absolutely awesome
I can totally relate to the part where you just sit and cry, because you finally have a few minutes to just sit and do that. It is likely I would do the EXACT same thing if met with the unthinkable- some time in my own house without the kids. Its unthinkable! Just recently I cried some (while they played in the next room for 2 mins)…about all the transitions piling up on me. They are starting preschool, recent vacation photos show me as noticably older and heavier than I’ve ever been, I lost my mom to cancer last year, my marriage is being neglected, etc etc and I cried about all that and more and then moved on with life and all its incessant demands. Thanks for your blog, we are all in this together.