If you’re a parent you will be able to relate to this blog today. If you’re not a parent then you will have no idea what any of this feels like. Lucky you! I’m talking about the imaginary time clock that parents check out on at night. That wonderful time when we get to say to ourselves, “I’m done parenting for today! Woohoo! Yippy! I hope to God they don’t wake up for any one of the 100 reasons out there!” Seriously, my daughter got out of bed two minutes after I checked out on my imaginary time clock because she said she had too many blankets on. Seriously kid? You’re making me put my mom hat back on because you can’t figure out how to remove a blanket? Or how about last night at 4am when she came into my room because of a nightmare? I’m not a cold heartless bitch but she didn’t really seem all that scared. I think she really just wanted company while she went pee.
Have you ever told your kid it was past their bedtime when it really wasn’t their bedtime, just so you could check out a few minutes early? Yeah, me too! Is it just me or is the last half hour before bed the longest half hour ever? While trying to get them quickly into pjs and to brush their teeth, you realize that if you rush them, then you will just have that much more time to parent them before bed. It’ll mean one more episode of some god awful kids show or one more book that you’ve read a thousand times. Let me be clear here, I love being a parent more than anything in this world. That however, does not mean that I must like every moment of parenting. I have nights where we cuddle and laugh and enjoy each others company, and then there are nights where I want to pull my hair out and say “OH MY GOD, COULD YOU JUST GO TO BED? I mean really…just go to bed…go now…now please…OMG PLEASE GO BEFORE MOMMY WHINES LIKE A TWO YEAR OLD”.
At the end of the day I need to check out mentally. My day starts with the kids and getting them off to school, and then 8.5 hours at work, followed by 3 more hours with the kids. Those three hours include dinner (don’t get me started on that battle), dishes, homework, packing lunches, extracurriculars such as swimming, and laundry. Thank goodness I have a spouse that takes on most of the dinner cooking and homework and sports with the boys. I couldn’t imagine doing it all on my own. For all you parents out there doing more than your fair share of the work load, I commend you. I need to check out at night. I give myself permission to check out without guilt. I eat, sleep, and breathe my family, and at bedtime I punch out on that imaginary clock and enjoy what little time I have left in the day. I think it makes me a better parent. Having time to enjoy my quiet time, be it blogging, knitting, reading a book or mindlessly watching tv, helps me recharge my batteries for the next day. Finding myself again at the end of the day makes me happy. I suggest you give it a try!
KidMitts 