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Blogging Baby Size Six: things I miss since becoming a parent

by Sarah Gilbert Jan 19th 2006 10:23AM

i love truman, but he cant eat at the barI love, love, love my boys and can't imagine life without them. But sometimes I can imagine the things I could do if I wasn't so tied down. Not forever mind you. An hour, a day, a long weekend without kids... could be just lovely. Here are the top six things I miss most about being a mama:

  1. Spur-of-the-moment trips. Once upon a time, I could decide to go to New York, or London, or the beach, and as long as I had four or five hundred bucks' availability on my credit card, I was there. Now there are car seats and full fare for two years-and-up and babysitters and diapers and, oh my, I'll just watch the Travel Channel.
  2. Getting one thing at the grocery store. Unless I'm cooking a leisurely dinner, my husband is present and accounted for, and at least one child is napping, I can't just up and run to the grocery store to get oil-cured olives or Cotes du Rhone or plain yogurt. It's a full-fledged trip or I skip it.
  3. Eating at the bar. Happy Hour used to be so great. Drink specials, cheap-and-yummy appetizers, and great conversation. Ha! Now Happy Hour is when naptime precedes dinner.
  4. Running late at night with my husband. We used to go on regular three-mile runs after an 8 p.m. dinner. Now running has to be on the calendar along with "date night" and requires a full-fledged child care action plan. Is it any wonder I haven't run for two weeks?
  5. Swearing for comedic effect. I used to use the occasional, well-placed s.h.i.t. or f-bomb just because it was funny. Now I only swear if I'm truly, truly angry. And that is not a good thing.
  6. Sleeping until 1 p.m. Ha! My kids are lovely late sleepers - they often don't get out of bed until 9:30 a.m. But remember when you could stay in bed until after lunchtime on Saturdays? Oh, how I long to just do that one. time.
Update: This has been a popular post prompting lots of discussion! Check out Melissa Summer's response, and her six things she doesn't miss since becoming a parent.

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