Moms Without Blogs has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address. If that does not occur, visit
http://momswithoutblogs.com
and update your bookmarks.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Unexpected free time

My in-laws called this morning offering me the unexpected - some free time sans kids.

Holy shit.  

It's like hitting the jackpot when a call like this comes in.  I can barely contain myself with all of the endless possibilities.   

After all of the usual morning routines around our home, my dude pulled out of the driveway around 10:30 this morning to drop them off for a day of playing with the grandparents.  The kids were giddy, mama was ecstatic.

As I watched them pull away, my mind started doing what it does when I suddenly find myself with some unexpected free time.  It started racing. Thought after thought after thought of all the things I could do today.  

Kinda like this:

I could clean, the floor needs mopping, the kitchen needs scrubbing, laundry is piling up as usual, I should put away the basket of folded laundry first, I should clean the bathrooms, I should hang some pictures up in our room, I could go to IKEA and handle getting all of that stuff for our master closet, I could go to Bed, Bath and Beyond for stuff I need, I could go for a run, I could go to the gym, I need to start working out more if I'm gonna ever do another race, I could blog, I could blog surf, I could return many overdue emails, I could get a man/ped, I could call some friends, I could finish up my Christmas cards so I could actually send them, I could go grocery shopping, we need bread and eggs and just everything, I could finish baking those molasses cookies for my sister, I could pay some bills, I could organize our insanely unorganized office, I could clean out the kids' drawers of all of the clothes that don't fit them, I could go through the garage and get ready for a yard sale, I could get my Subaru ready to sell (we just got a mini-van, yep), I could drop my camera off to get fixed, I could spend some time working in my volunteer role at CR's school, I could take a walk on the beach, I could go buy some make-up remover that I need, I could plan a little getaway for the family this week, I could....I could....I could.....

...and the list goes on and on.

And as the mind races, the clock ticks.  And the longer I don't do anything, well, the longer I don't DO ANYTHING!!

So in the end, I cranked up a nice shuffle of Beck tunes, did just a tad of kitchen cleaning, just enough so I wouldn't feel like crap every time I walked in there, and then my dude and I decided to do this:

We took our two doggy creatures to an old stomping ground of ours...a hike we did many times before with the beasts before our three human creatures came along.  

And in the middle of the silent hills that stretch away from the Pacific, we took some clean deep breaths and remembered for an instant our previous life.  

When free time flowed like water from a faucet.   

And after an afternoon of remembering what a day alone together felt like, we jumped into the van, picked up the kids, hugged and kissed them crazy, brought them home and tucked them into bed.

Sans kids is cool....but only for a little while.

24 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a great time with your man..

    ReplyDelete
  2. As I was reading the paragraph, I thought, "I hope she picks the walk!"

    I got a little depressed thinking that if/when I ever have kids that it would be so hard to remember the life I led before them...but then you said that "sans kids is cool, but only for a little while"...and I am comforted. :) Such a great outlook!

    ReplyDelete
  3. aww... a perfect day..I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. what a wonderful day to just do what you want and be yourself! Congrats on getting a 'personal' day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You found my to do list!! Thanks, I was missing that.

    And seriously, I would have gotten to "take a walk on the beach" and stopped.

    Kudos to you for picking up the kitchen. I also feel a compulsion to do a little cleaning to show that "see, I did SOMETHING!"

    ...our previous life - a nice place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Funny how when you have the time, you don't know how to spend it. So glad you were able to get some quality time in.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awww...that hike sounds awesome...
    happy for you...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sounds like you made a good choice...when you finally did chose. :) I am so like that. I get a decent amount of time out of the house sans kids (thanks soley to hubby) mostly for shopping but also an occasional MNO. But I rarely, very very rarely get time home alone during daylight! I get totally lost and confused when I do...it's a little crazy really.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Isn't it odd when we find ourselves alone we are "at a loss" for what to do. Sometimes I just do nothing and curl up on the couch with a book or TV and eventually fall asleep - uninterrupted sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh wow! I thought I was the only one with that running commentary in my head! Once I realize everything I NEED to do, I'm usually too tired to do anything :)

    You and your hubby made a GREAT choice! Here's to the in-laws and taking the kids, no matter what their other faults are :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, are you watching me? Sounds EXACTLY like MY day!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. My list is just as long, but when it comes down to it, we end up nixing the to-do list and having a blast on our own. Those moments are priceless, glad you had fun!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Before I read this post I had decided to have another kid...now...ehh not so much.

    Hey I live right at the base of that hill on the far left horizen. If you look close you can see me surfing.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ahaha! Oh, the mind of a mom with a few precious hours! Glad you had a wonderful day, with lovin' on the kids being the cherry on top, of course! =)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like you had a great day!! It's so true what you said... "sans kids is cool, but only for a little while." I love my "me-time" but wouldn't trade my baby boy for all the "me-time" in the world!

    ReplyDelete
  16. amen to that!!! funny how that works

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lovely. You'll have (some) more free time when the kids are older but in these early days it's essential to pamper yourself when you get a free mo.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awww, that sounds so nice what you and V got to do.

    You sure have a lot of crap to do. I do too. I hate that, having so much crap to do that you don't know where to start. I remember what your previously life was like before you had kids. I remember it all, like it was yesterday. Like the time we hit a deer. Remember that!? Or the time I wanted to sell my colored paper plate art to the Taos artists.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It's a nice break to have every now and then. Just to reminisce.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am jealous, yet hope you and the dude had a blast :D I think it is time for peanut to hang out with the bachlor uncle, while mt man and I go snowshoeing....Happy New Year!
    p.s. so jealous you have warm weather right now! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh that sounds so fabulous. So glad you had a chance to head out for the walk. It's amazing how much free time you have when you're single and child-free, but never realize it until that time is gone!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a wonderful way to end a great day. We all need that now and then

    ReplyDelete
  23. I always enjoy days when I can feel what it was like to just me Me and not mommy, cook, cleaner, baker, candlestick maker (you get the point right)....but I am always so glad get back to my baby and squeeze her tight.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails
 
Blog Designed by : NW Designs