It's easy to stuff women into categories. There are the mommies, with plenty of sub-categories between work-outside-the-home moms and stay-at-home moms. And there are the non-mommies. Some non-mommies love their lives just as they are, busy with careers and travel and theater or whatever they're into. Some of the non-mommies are very envious of mommies because they want kids, while others make a loud point to let us know that they choose not to have kids and have fabulous lives that include spas, ski trips, etc. Many non-mommies don't do this, at least in my life, but a few do. Some mommies are fine to forego the fun extracurricular stuff, unless they have amazing childcare and time and money are plentiful. Others of us wish we could have more breaks and fun to look forward to. The grass is always greener somewhere else, right?
So I liked this column by a friend of mine on what guilty pleasures moms give up -- it really ranges, of course, what moms have to give up. A guy friend of mine and my husband's put it well one time -- he has twin five year old girls and pondered to us "remember when you practically had bundles of money lying around the house pre-kids?" I think I miss that -- just being able to go shopping whenever, or take a little weekend somewhere to visit a girlfriend. But, all of that said, hugs from my 23-month-old son are pretty damn sweet. At the risk of being mushy, anytime I feel wistful about "what if" or "I wish..." he quickly reminds me that giving up some guilty pleasures isn't so bad.
Besides, whether you consider running a guilty pleasure or not, I don't give that up -- so maybe that's mine, those child-free couple of hours on a Saturday morning with friends on the lakefront. I love them.
About Me
- Tammy
- After years of sloth, I am now a mama who runs and practices yoga. I write about exercise; parenting a grownup child as well as two little kids; and whatever is annoying me at the moment.
First of all, thanks for the shoutout! : )
ReplyDeleteSecond, the grass is always greener, indeed. Today in Starbucks I pulled out my credit cards to pay for my iced coffee. Our bank lets you make custom-cards so mine has a picture of my kids walking on the beach on it. The young (college-aged?) barista oohed and ahed over it and said, "I want that someday. Check back with me in ten years." As much as I yearn for a break from being a mom some days, I often forget what it was like to be in that place where I was just waiting for my life to take off.