I fantasized about my kid-free weekend for a month. I would read, enjoy a quiet anniversary dinner with my husband, and maybe even find time for a manicure. There would be no diaper changes, no Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and, perhaps most enticing, I would sleep past 6 a.m!
But guess what, as soon as I dropped my daughters off at my parents’ house and pulled out of the driveway, I missed them. Like immediately. I felt like a little piece of me was left behind in my parents’ living room. How could I miss them instantly when all I had wanted for weeks was some alone time?
“Any update on the girls?” My husband asked me as we sat down for our quiet, romantic dinner. Apparently, he, too, was missing our little ladies. My mom texted us a couple of photos of them for us to swoon over.
(Photo by Alyssa Crawford Photography)
For parents with young children, it is a tremendous help to have people we trust to care for them overnight or even for a short evening out. These relationships and encounters benefit the parents, the care-takers, and, most importantly, the children. Despite missing our daughters, we had a couple of great child-free days catching up on yard work, enjoying quiet meals, and sleeping in (until 7 a.m.)
I think it is healthy for parents to want (and take) some alone time now and then. It’s also healthy for us to miss them while we do that. We love them.
Parenthood is a mixed bag of emotions. We are stressed, blessed, annoyed, amused, elated, and exhausted all at the same time. That’s OK. So take a little alone time, even if you spend most of it looking at pictures of your kids on your phone.
A HOUSE WITH CHARACTER 