Thursday, September 30, 2010

y is for you

You: Try not to always see yourself in terms of being a parent and look after yourself too.


On Tuesday night, we had a family meeting.

It was to discuss what we were going to do the following night. You see, Leah (our newly turned 21 year old) has just returned from her gig at The Snow. She'd come home and was hoping for a plan. She likes a plan.

Madison was eyeing off the Silvers Circus brochure on the fridge.

"Can we please go to the circus?" he asked in his best mannered voice.

"How about we go out for dinner, and then the circus?" said Leah.

"Well, Grandma has asked us over for dinner," responded my Darling Hubby.

I sat and listened. And the conversation went round, off track for a bit, and then back to the original topic. I could see a decision wasn't going to be made quickly. As Leah headed out, the final words on the conversation were, "Let me know what you decide..."

Later that night Hubby asked me, "Babe, what do you want to do?"


And seeing that the whole conversation was about what we were going to do for my birthday, I felt the question was probably a good one. (That's why I love him. He's so considerate.)

The next day the boys went to Grandma and Grandpa's while I worked, and had lunch with hubby at The Firehouse. How divine was uninterrupted conversation (one of my favourite things) and my lunch? Just for the record, I ordered: Chia seed pancake, roasted field mushrooms, mahamarra, yarra valley feta, basil, thyme with pomegranate molasses. YUM! And that evening we all headed to my in-laws for a lovely dinner and a birthday cake (prepared earlier and made with love). Leah and boys included. It was perfect. When we finally arrived home, we spent an hour or so on Skype with our eldest girl Kelly (she couldn't be here because she's living in Paris - jealous much?).

A beautiful birthday with people I love.

But getting back to the letter Y.

It was my birthday so I didn't mind saying what I wanted. But when I'm not celebrating (!) getting older, my agenda is to make others happy (which means that we will go to the circus next week).

On other days, the reason why I love blogging so much is because it's time for me. Just me.

My babies are in bed, my husband is enjoying some of his own time, and it's finally quiet. No-one interrupts me. I can read as much as I like about whatever I want. I can chat with friends online, collaborate, and learn from others' experiences, reflect on the day, and write. I can unwind in the silence and the tap, tap, tapping on my keyboard.

And while I'd love more Quality Kym Time, I wonder: would I appreciate it as much if I had more of it?

What do you do for you? When it comes to priorities, do you find that you're the last one in the pecking order? How do you look after yourself?

The A-Z of Parenting Tips were inspired by this article in the Courier Mail.

3 comments:

  1. I love when my daughter is in bed for the night and I finally get me time too! :) Thanks for stopping by and stalk away! I might too! :)

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  2. Happy Birthday Kym!!! I hope you had a wonderful day.
    Ex

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  3. Thanks Elizabeth. You're too sweet. Of course, I'm not that excited about turning a year older. Those days are GONE!

    Pearls, you can stalk me anytime. I'm happy to be stalked.

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Thank you for your thoughtful and positive words and taking the time to comment. Love Kymmie. xx