Before having a baby, you always hear things like “sleep while you can” or the opposite “have fun while you still can!” We expected the no-sleep thing and we expected the financial burden of activities, daycare and nappies, but here are a few things that we didn’t expect to miss since we became parents.
Driving Straight Home From Work For years we took for granted the simple task of driving home after work. Now, our standard routine involves about an extra half hour (on a good day) kids activities. Before becoming parents, we would finish work and have the luxury of driving straight home, go for a run or swim, or even better to the pub for dinner. Fast forward to being a parent and now any extra stop means we don’t start cooking dinner until later than normal, meaning who knows when the food will be ready, meaning we have cranky kids who will likely be up past 7pm which impacts on parent chill time.
Not Having to Hide My Trash We can’t throw away artwork from a year ago or stale cookie, treat wrappers without little eyes peering in the bin and spotting them. If there’s anything that we need to get rid of that the kids may be interested in, we have to hide it beneath the coffee grounds and banana peels.
New and Adventurous foods Don't get me wrong our children eat pretty much anything, but never the first time round. For example chicken, rice and vegetables is a staple in our home however change it to curry and rice "oh I don't like rice or curry" But the rice is the same as last night and so is the curry just changed the sauce darling. "I don't like sauce then", All children love sauce.
Eating Treats Out in the Open We give our kids the healthy treat and those naughtier ones on occasion (ice cream comes to mind) but when it's our turn for dessert they will still request to share. They generally don't reciprocate when only they get dessert and adults do not......we'd be ok with it if it went both ways. Or if we got a bigger portion of unslobbered on ice cream, chocolate any type of treat. They can sniff out a cookie on our breath hours later and have super sensitive hearing to any form of delicious treat packaging. We can’t be the only parents who have eaten ice cream in the bathroom?
Going to the Toilet in Peace It’s like there’s a sensor on our toilet seat that alerts the kids whenever we try and sneak off to the toilet in peace. In they come asking for who knows what or even worse "can I see your poo?" Even tried announcing that we are going to the toilet which sometimes ends in a race of who gets their bottom on the toilet seat first, which usually leaves some one 'busting' to go (that person usually being over 18 years old).
Flying Want to fly somewhere on vacation? Sure, but that will cost you a whole extra plane ticket. We’re a small family, but anytime we consider flying anywhere we usually run the airfare, times it by three, and immediately change our mind. Road-trip, it is!
Spontaneity How we miss the days gone by of beach trips with just a towel. or seeing an event advertised at the last minute and just going to check it out. Leaving the house these days is like a dynamic scene from a flight controller at a busy airport. Everyone is ready to go but them someone needs to poo, looses their shoe, has the wrong water bottle, their hat is dirty, someones hides the keys, falls asleep prematurely. Takes 1 hour to get ready for a 10 min car journey with two kids.
Our ability to hold thoughts Whether at work or at home, it’s nearly impossible to think about something without being interrupted. For example, I have been jumped on, whined to, and begged for juice just while I’m writing this one little paragraph. I miss being able to really hold onto an idea and think it through and finish it.
As parents we often have to pause our thoughts, dreams, sleep, fun, pizza, and happy hours, but thankfully it’s all worth it about a million times over. We’re a part of something sweeter than the dessert we sneak in the bathroom and something more thrilling that flying through the clouds. I have a feeling one day these will be the things that we miss.
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