May 24, 2020
As I sit on my porch watching the rain clouds blow over, praying that we will get rain tonight, I think about our day today. My face is burning, my eyelids are heavy and my eyeballs burn a from the intense breeze that blew in my face all day, but I smile to myself; today was a good day. The little man is in his bed, talking to himself, once again exhausted but too stubborn to fall asleep right away. The hubby is at the farm feeding his fur babies. Life is good. The kitchen is messy, the floors need to be vacuumed and the laundry needs to be changed but I don’t care. Today we took full advantage of the sunny Sunday and made it a day about us, not about our “to do” list of things that should be done.
Becoming parents means that your world changes. Our lives are no longer focused on our wants and needs. We pretty much become slaves to the needs of the beautiful bundles of joy we have created. There is never enough time left in a day to pay attention to our own desires. This new reality, as wonderful as it is, can sometimes be challenging for parents to deal with. This is why I believe it is extremely important to find time for yourself, to do the things you want to do even if it is just for a short period of time each day. More important, we have to realize that it is okay to need some time to ourselves, whether it is just for a few hours or a day or two. In fact, it’s probably good for both parents and children to have a break from each other every once in a while, especially after two and a half months of being quarantined together.
So today our little munchkin spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa’s while we went for a tour on the newest addition to the “toy” family; the new (to us) Harley Davidson motorbike. It was exactly what we needed to clear our heads and spend some much-needed quality time together. I think Grandma and Grandpa were happy to have an excuse to take it easy as well. We all needed a change of routine for a day. I told myself that it didn’t matter that my chubby-legged, wobbly monkey’s room needs to be cleaned or that the basement still isn’t organized or tidied. We all worked hard at various tasks and jobs all week, so today was our day to do what we wanted without stressing about our mile long to do lists (easier said than done, but we did it!).
I always complain about Sunday drivers and how slow they drive, but today we were among those dreaded drivers and it was great! I have a new respect for people who actually slow down and take in the landmarks and scenery around them. As the wind howled in my ears and the sun beat down on us, I took full advantage of the fact that I no longer have to hold on for dear life. My seat is as comfy as a couch, so I can sit back, relax and enjoy the sights around me. It’s amazing how many new details you notice along roads you’ve traveled your entire life, when you actually slow down long enough to look.
As busy, working human beings, we speed through life so quickly. Always in a rush to get from point A to point B, never taking time to enjoy the road between. Now that we’re all being forced to stay home and have nowhere we need to go, it’s a lot easier to appreciate the many beauties and wonders around us. You can take the time to notice the hard work and care people are putting into their yards, or the painting of a lab on a garage door you’ve driven by thousands of times but never noticed before. Social isolating or not, we can plow through each day trying to get everything accomplished in hopes of having some time to do our own projects, only to realize we still need this, this and this. Today with our lovable rascal entertaining Grandma and Grandpa, we had no one to worry about but ourselves.
With spring planting just finishing up, we haven’t had a whole lot of time to do anything together in the last month or so. When you can’t even spend time with the only other adult you live with, things can get pretty lonely after a while. A Momma can only handle baby talk for so long; eventually she needs to spend some time with someone her own age. So today I didn’t worry about my to do list. Today, I enjoyed the company of the man I love, I soaked in the beauty of the area we live in and even caught a few ZZZs before heading to the barn to milk cows. Not once did I let myself feel guilty about it. The little man enjoyed being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa and they enjoyed having an excuse to relax inside all day, enjoying the company of their grandson. All in all… today was a good US day!
