Mom-Time is EVERYTHING!

I had the hardest time when my kids were really little.

The adjustment from full- time job to full -time mom was… challenging.

Over time, I got better at juggling all the tasks a ‘stay-at-home’ mom was responsible for.

But one of the biggest challenges for me was the amount of time I was spending with kids!!

Ok… that sounds a little heartless as I write it, but darn it, its the truth!

This is what I had wanted. To be home with my kids. To be the one showing them everything, teaching them everything, guiding them through everything.

But what I didn’t think about was how much time that adds up to in a week.

And how much I would miss the personal time that was now being filled with the desires of my children.

On the weekends, my understanding husband would take the kids on what I termed ‘Daddy Adventure Days’. Whether it was to the park, to a museum in the city, or just on errands.

The point was he took them out…for HOURS!

I wrote this on one of those glorious days, when I got to do whatever I wanted…for a few hours.

My husband just called me from Target.

He took our 3 and 5 year old kids out to get some accessories for their new bikes, go to the Coinstar machine, and get a few items I had written down for them on a post-it note.

But mostly, I’m sure, just to give me some time to myself.

I LOVE it when my husband takes the kids out for the day.

I giddily scurry around, right-ending the house, and getting the kids dressed and washed up.

Because of my freakish ways, I cannot relax until all of the house is, for the most part, tidied up.

My goal is to time it so that the house is neat, and the children are fed, dressed, pottied, and ready to go out the door by the time Daddy emerges from his grooming upstairs.

Then it’s hugs and kisses, gentle nudges to the door, declarations of love and good wishes for the day, close the door and happy dance!

 

Oh, the luxury of washing my face and brushing my teeth…uninterrupted.

Leisurely picking out an outfit for the day, and doing my hair.

All of this only takes about 20 minutes with the results being something like this: Face- clean with tinted moisturizer, mascara, and lip balm; teeth- brushed;  an outfit that is appropriate for the weather, hair pulled up into a neat and functional hairstyle, something like a ponytail or a bun.

I know…I’m working on it.

So I did all of this, had a slice of leftover vegan pizza and a bowl of the kids’ cereal with almond milk. (Hey, I was cleaning the house and preparing the children during breakfast!)

I had just finished checking my email and putting away my dishes, and had settled down to fold a couple loads of laundry when I looked outside.

The most perfect, sunny day was staring me back in the face.

It was almost chastising me for sitting in a climate controlled environment.

‘Are you kidding me?!’ it mocked.

So I grabbed a bag, dropped in a parenting magazine, my phone, my IPAD, my keys and my sunglasses and headed out to the bench in the courtyard of our Brooklyn condo.

Ahhh. As I sit here, the sun is shining down on my brown skin.

It feels like pure energy beaming straight into me.

As I sit underneath the umbrella of trees with the sun twinkling through the leaves, I feel a bit guilty.

My husband’s phone call from Target revealed that our 3-year-old son had opened the big re-fill bottle of DIAL liquid soap and then accidentally dumped it all over himself. ‘Uh-Oh Daddy, it spilled!’.

He was probably really frustrated. But from where I sat, I could see what a classic kid moment it was.

And I laughed… So glad it wasn’t me!

I have learned that these kinds of perfect days are not a dime a dozen like when I was growing up.

I have developed a new appreciation and gratitude for the gift that is this type of day.

So I take my guilt and tell it to ‘shove it’!

I think about how funny it was to hear my husband describe the scene and realize it probably wasn’t so funny for him at the moment. But he’ll get over it. He’s good at that.

The kids will be back from Target and they will ask me to make them a snack.

So while Daddy deals with our beautiful little mess makers, I will sit quietly, listen to the city buzz, feel the breeze, soak up the warmth of the sun, and appreciate this moment.