Remember the days in high school when the captain of the football team or president of the student body wouldn’t give you the time of day, let alone a peck on the cheek. Back then, you may have lamented the harsh sting of loneliness and wondered if you’d be doomed to walk the halls of life solo for the rest of eternity.
Then, you gave birth and going to the toilet, showering, or even brushing your teeth became a team sport.
From the moment your baby arrives in your arms until he or she moves out of the nest, “me time” becomes an oxymoron and any fear of being alone is quickly replaced with the reality that you will be shadowed by constant chaos, noise, screaming, and non-stop talking for many, many years.
One of the sacrifices parents make when welcoming a child into the world is alone time. You probably thought about this a little bit when you were pregnant. However, most moms and dads (especially moms) underestimate how challenging it can be to carve out at least a few minutes of alone time each day.
Day? Who are we kidding? Most moms are lucky if they get 10 minutes per month to collect their thoughts in total isolation.
In an attempt to preserve their sanity, most moms are forced to come up with creative ways to snag at least a few seconds of alone time whenever and however they can.
When my daughter was a baby, the only alone time I logged was when she was sleeping, though with her severe colic, that often lasted 20 minutes tops during the day and two to three consecutive hours at night.
During the day I spent my alone time running around like a decapitated chicken washing dishes, sorting dirty clothes and trying to keep the trash can from overflowing.
Now that my daughter is older, I log most of my alone time in the shower, though half the time I am only mildly successful in completing a wash, rinse and shampoo without a visit or two from my bonus appendage.
Other moms are far more creative than I am in coming up with ways to enjoy quality time alone. Whether it’s putting the kids to sleep early, feigning sickness so they can retire to their bedrooms minus the entourage, hiding in a closet, waking up early to exercise, extending a business trip or getting “lost” on the way home from the grocery store, sometimes a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.
How do you finagle alone time?
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