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Sunday 19 June 2016

The Great Escape (to Odeon)

One massive benefit to having my baby on formula is that it doesn't have to be me that feeds him. It mostly is me, to be fair, but the point is it doesn't have to be. And that means I have the opportunity to enjoy some necessary me time.

S is great. As far as husbands go, he's awesome. I know some husbands who have bugger all to do with the main responsibilities of caring for a child but mine, he is hands on. And the best part is, he's hands on because he wants to be. He feeds, changes, plays, disciplines, cuddles...everything. And he's fantastic at it. To be honest, it's a reflection of our marriage - we are a partnership and try very hard not to take each other for granted.

For example, if he wants to spend an afternoon playing cricket despite being out at work all week, that's no problem. He's a grown-up and as such can make his own decisions as to what's right and fair. If I put myself in his place, I wouldn't want to be told what I could and couldn't do. I would like to be trusted to do the right thing and I trust him to do the right thing. That thing being, similarly, if I want to get out of the house for an hour or two (or maybe three) - by myself - that isn't a problem for him either.


The other day, for the first time since baby R was born, possibly even longer, both of us took advantage of bottle feeding and went out together, alone. Little O was at nursery and Nana M agreed to babysit baby R for a few hours, so we went to the cinema.

It was incredibly liberating and romantic, yet strange too. Getting out of the car in the cinema car park was weird. I mean, we just got out, locked the doors and left. Just like that. Comedians have covered this phenomenon for good reason. It highlights in blazing colour just how much extra time and effort is required to:

  • get the buggy out
  • unfold it
  • get the change bag into the buggy
  • pick up the stuff that has squeezed itself out of the change bag during the process of squeezing the change bag into the buggy
  • get the baby car seat out of the car
  • curse several times as you struggle to fit the bloody thing onto the cock-eyed buggy adaptors
  • curse again as your coat gets trapped between the car seat and the buggy handle
  • extract coat
  • get the toddler out
  • curse yet again as he tries to run into the path of a car
  • manically search for the reins in the depths of the change bag and wrangle them onto your child
  • wipe sweat from forehead
  • lock car
  • get half way across car park and realise you've left your handbag in the car
  • return to car
  • extract handbag
  • consider going home but decide you can't face it
  • lock car again
We didn't have to do any of that and it was ace. And the film was great. We cuddled, held hands, shared some sweets and just enjoyed topics of conversation that didn't include the words 'fish fingers' or 'leaky poop'. 

It's not until you have children and have so little free time, that you wish you valued the time you had before children more. I sometimes ponder the trips we should have taken and sights we should have seen. We should have done more. I can see that now, but it doesn't mean our lives are emptier now, far from it. They are much fuller. Instead, we are encouraged to appreciate each other, to make the most of the time we do have alone together, and to make sure we take time for us, even if its just a stolen kiss in the hallway.

Run Jump Scrap!

1 comment:

  1. This is so true! I so wish hubby and I had gone to the cinema more...never now :-( your hubby sounds like mine...a partnership is so important when you have kids. Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst x

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