Okay, I didn’t really keep track of the ins and outs of our day for the fourth day in a row, nor did I take pictures. (Y’all might be getting sick of hearing about every little detail of my unexciting life, anyway.)
It was Saturday, and I was in the mood to do something—something we would all enjoy. I had NO IDEAS. Whenever I try to think of something everyone would enjoy the only thing I can think of is Disneyland, and that wasn’t really an option. The weather was cold and wet. I needed some inspiration, so I went to the obvious source: facebook.
I received some lovely, well-meaning suggestions. Have a camp-out in your front room. Let the boys make a fort. Let them nap in it. (Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!) Have some hot chocolate. Bake some cookies. Scavenger hunt.
Now, I’m sorry if this ruins your perception of me, but all of those sound like fun for the kids (except for the nap) and work for me. I’ve lost my childlike sense of wonder and excitement. That, and I wanted something out of the ordinary.
Then it occurred to me: over the course of this past week I had been home with my children every day. They had outside classes on Monday and over an hour of free gym time with friends. They had hot breakfast every. single. morning—complete with hot chocolate with whipped cream. They had a picnic outside. They donned costumes and put on a play. They built a blanket fort in the front room. We baked cookies. They had book club with friends, including an hour of social play time afterward. They had been to the pool 2-3 times for lessons or team practice. They went to the library. They watched tv and movies. They played video games. They had lots of quiet reading time. They had special time with Dad. They had play time outside in the country where they could roam free.
By golly, it was time I did something for me. And I wanted to hang out with my husband sans children. Grandparents to the rescue. The kids had an evening with Bambi and Poppy. Russ and I went to a movie and out to dinner. That was fun. I think it had been almost a year since we went on a date—with a tag-along baby. It is high time we start scheduling some regular date nights. I’m making up a babysitter list and checking my calendar…
6 comments:
I agree! I'm glad you got a night out. Those are absolutely needed on a regular basis. Love reading about your days!
Sigh.. date nights!!
What a fun read!!
Speaking of fun and reading I just did book detective with my kiddos and they loved it!! What is your next book??
We just read Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney at our meeting for this month. Next month we are discussing chapter three of Homer Price by McCloskey (to be read ahead of time) and then The Real Thief by Steig (the whole book, to be read ahead of time).
Yea, Heidi! I totally follow your line of thinking. Our kids have such an amazingly rich life, one they can't even appreciate with their immature sense of perspective. Sometimes they don't need another fun activity offered to them. But Mom and Dad need to step back and put on their oxygen masks!
Tim and I don't do date nights often enough, but when we do, it's always like, "Aha! So THIS is what we've been missing!" ;-) And I wonder why we don't do them more often ...
The smile in your profile picture looked brighter than ever, after reading this post. Ditto previous commenter. 'oxygen mask'. seriously. ditto.
Best week to you, ever. :)
I am with you...those couple nights are soooo important. We try to do it one night out a month and one night in (saves money on the sitter). Glad you got out!
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