What Do You Miss Most About Life Before Becoming a Mom?
Leaving the gym early to pick up my son from the babysitter tonight, I felt kinda jealous of my friends who don’t have children and could stay out as late as they wanted then go for a drink afterward, and I got to thinking about what I missed about being childless. So what do I miss?
- Being able to leave the house in 10 seconds. No getting complaining child into boots-hat-coat-mittens, packing diaper bag with enough supplies, dealing with carseat.
- Peeing in peace. Showering in peace. This morning, my toddler was in the bathroom, he wanted to throw rubber ducks at me, “help” shave my legs, squirt an entire bottle of shampoo down the drain, then break out of the bathroom and go and cause havoc elsewhere.
- Sleeping late. ‘Nuff said.
- Going out, getting drunk, staying out until 4 a.m., coming home, raiding the kitchen, falling asleep without bothering to remove dress or eyeliner and being able to be hungover in peace the next morning. I’m probably too old for that kind of thing but now I can’t do it, I miss it.
- Exercise and recreational activities. There’s some things I can do with my son, but other things I love to do like snowboarding or rock climbing require organization and the expense of a babysitter, or being subject to the irrational whims of my son’s dad, and whether he wants to see him or not. And there’s prioritizing what I can do with my free time and often the need to work or sleep takes precedence.
- Go traveling. Traveling with small children requires a major amount of planning and a child-friendly destination. And it’s not really a holiday, more of a change of scenery for the diaper changes.
- Stuff staying where I put it. Why is there a lemon in my sock draw? Why is there a plastic lion in the fridge? The suspect is 2′8″, approximately 35 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes, was last seen carrying saucepans in the direction of the bedroom.
- Somewhat related to the above. Not treading on lego bricks when bleary and not quite awake. Ow.
Now I’ve vented, I feel better. And i feel, like I always do, that all the things above are a small price to pay, and I wouldn’t exchange my wonderful son for anything. The love and wonder and joy he gives me makes up a millionfold for lost snowboarding and drinking.
So what do you miss about life before becoming a parent?
Read More
Melissa H says...
You have hit most of the biggies…. but I would pay large sums of money to be able to sit on the computer or read a book for ten minutes undisturbed. Or how about this one…. not having a little whirlwind tornado behind me pulling out all of the toys that I have JUST put away. I guess that one falls under just plain old having a clean house. Maybe I am just ill-equipped for being a mommy but I can’t keep my house looking presentable for a full 12 hours. Sigh.
Science-mom says...
Doing things together with my husband without first reserving a babysitter weeks in advance…We used to jog together…now we do it in shifts…going to the movies or the theater means paying double or more – babysitters charge 25 bucks an hour here is Switzerland
. But yes, motherhood is worth all the sacrifices 