Wednesday, February 09, 2011

An afternoon off.

What would you do if your triplets were in very good hands with their grandparents at home, leaving you free to do whatever you please for an entire afternoon? My dad came to town last night for a conference in DC. Since it is going to keep my mom and dad busy for the next few days, they suggested I take an afternoon of carefree, no-rush, do-whatever-I-want fun. My mom often reminds me to get out of the house while I have the chance, but I don’t always want to leave her with the crew for more than a quick trip to the store, and usually they are asleep most of the time. I know she can handle them, that’s not the issue. It’s that I feel slightly guilty giving her all that responsibility for an extended amount of time, knowing all she might encounter. Now that she’s been with them for all this time, and knows their routine (it takes relearning every time she comes, as they change so much between her visits), it gets easier for me to leave guilt-free, but still, if it’s not necessary to leave, I feel funny doing it. But maybe getting out just to get out is okay sometimes, even if you aren’t out of milk, or don’t need more baby ibuprofen. If the offer is there, it’s okay to take advantage of it.

I don’t think I’m deprived of leaving the house. I made myself take the kids with me on errands earlier than I thought I would, making me feel pretty normal for the situation I was in. And even though I don’t take the kids out right now, I still have my wonderful sister to help me out when my mom leaves. But it’s always rushed, and I always wonder what’s going on at home, and if I’m inconveniencing anyone. KC is great to let me have time to myself on Saturdays, but that takes that time away from him. It’s the life of a mother, I suppose, and I’ll take chubby babies over carefree shopping any day. Sometimes you just wish you had a moment to relax, you know?

I used to shop just for the fun of it. It didn’t matter if I found/needed anything or not, but mostly to just pass the time. Now, shopping without the intent of crossing many things off a list seems like a frivolous, and wasteful use of my time. Free time is precious, so I use it wisely. There is always so much to do at home, so why go out when I don’t really have anything to get or anywhere to go, and spend money I wouldn’t spend if I just stayed home and did my household duties (how warped our brains become when we have kids)? But knowing this opportunity doesn’t come so often, I decided to zip up my boots and head out. With Elise given the same offer, naturally we went together. 

So what crazy plan did we moms come up with to fill our afternoon of freedom? With nothing really in mind, we just set out and decided we needed a couple things at the dreaded Walmart (I had some store credit) where there was also a Redbox there I wanted to hit. That was our first exciting stop. Then we headed to the library to return/check out some items. Woo hoo! Then feeling pathetic, we drove by the nearby theater to see what movies were playing and what times. No good for our schedule. Then feeling even more pathetic, we decided to go to one of our favorite places to hang out, Target. Yes, were were really living it up folks. We hardly bought anything (how’s that for self control?) and headed home to a bunch of happy babies.

Well isn’t that what you would do with your free afternoon? Okay, so we didn’t do anything too productive, or too exciting. But we did get out, and had a good time, laughing all the while. And it felt good. Maybe someday that afternoon could turn into a whole day, or a few days for that matter. Mom and dad, are you ready for that?! As much as I’d miss my little loves, I think I could really do some damage if I had a few days to kill, instead of just a few hours. Hmm. . .I’m liking the sound of that.

5 comments:

Ryan & Kasha said...

Hey, You don't know me but I stumbled across your blog (from a friend of mines blog) right after you had your sweet babies and I have been following ever since. I LOVE to read your posts and see your babies grow. I had my first baby 8 months ago and can't imagine having three! But when I see your videos it makes me almost wish I had triplets, cause it's three times the fun(when they are happy)... Anyway, after reading this post, I was wondering, How do you go to the store with three babies when you need to pick up something? I have a hard enough time with one! LOL Do you just find a sitter? (I hope it isn't creepy that I follow your blog when I don't really know you...)

Sian said...

Im glad they are better health wise and you definitely deserve some time to yourself. But I am so the same. When my kiddies are away I don't know what to do with myself. I miss them and then I'm so excited to see them again. Its still important to have mummy time though even if we have forgotten what to do with it :)

Cami said...

Sounds like what I would do. Usually, if I'm getting the "day off" Jake takes the kids AWAY and I stay at home and veg out. Good times. Oh, but I did leave Jake home with the kids last Saturday and spend FIVE HOURS out and about--Walmart, Target, Home Depot, music store, fabric store. Gooood times I say.

Lili and Jeff said...

That is the convenient thing about your sister living underneath you in a basement apartment, you can just take errands when you please ;) And I get run my own, of course.

I think the most important thing about our outing was the giggles we had along the way. Sometimes I am very sad at the thought that all the things that we laugh to tears about are so quickly forgotten. I will record a few here, so we will stumble upon them later. Ehem.

Remember when Ruby bent over Penny, and in a very commanding, angry tone said, "YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH!!!!" Hee hee hee. So funny. And lets not forget the sinus clearing sniffing incident today...

Lisa said...

Hey Emily! I love to hop over to your blog from Sarah's and see those cute kiddos of yours. Plus, it makes me realize how easy my life is. :) Those kids are seriously so cute. Anyway, hope you guys are doing well!