I was given a rare gift today….an afternoon out by myself.
(Sidenote: We skipped church today and Brian spent the morning with us as he’s been on call all weekend. I’m glad we did because, sure enough, he was called out right after lunch. Sometimes I wonder if I should feel more guilty about skipping church (because I never do). But it’s hard to feel guilty at this stage of my life. After all, most Sundays are spent in the foyer or church basement, walking the baby. I rarely hear the message anymore and likely won’t again until Joe is old enough for nursery. I literally go to church these days just so Anne can go to kids’ church. Sometimes that’s not enough of a motivation when there’s snow and ice on the ground and all three of us are a little grouchy.)
Anyway, because he was here, he sent me out for an entire hour by myself.
By. My. Self.
Which is like balm to my soul. I got a cup of coffee and just went down the hill to our local used bookstore. I browsed around for the entire hour in the classics section and came out with 4 books for $20 (The Pearl, Lolita, All Quiet on the Western Front and The Great Gatsby – all books I’ve read and loved but never bought!).
I am now home because Bri got called to a flood. And the tinies are still curled in their beds. Which gives me a bit of time to blog and have a cuppa before they come charging back out into the world, ready to go go go go go and eat eat eat and poop poop poop (and all of that in about 14 minutes).
I am naturally an introvert (if you can believe it) and need a lot of time alone to recharge. I love people and I enjoy time with my children immensely. But I need to have time alone. I need to be able to read. I need to have a few minutes every day when no one is talking to me or needing anything from me. Which is a rare thing when you have tiny children!
I think that’s part of the reason why I am The Nap Nazi; I need it as much as they do!
I am proud to report that Joseph is sleeping 12 hours a night, just like Anne already. He wakes up around 11 or 12 for a nurse but that’s it. They both go to bed around 7. I’ve noticed that even getting 1 or 2 hours of sleep less makes them both very growly and prone to being sick.
And I’ve noticed that I’m much happier when I can have my evenings to myself. Brian and I can talk all evening or, if he’s out on a job, I can read all night if I like. Which I usually do.
So to have good sleepers must somehow a combination of a gift from God and strict parenting. LOL
