Independence Days
What freedoms have you enjoyed recently?
Happy July 4th, everyone. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about independence. It feels like such a foreign concept when you’re constantly being called for and climbed on by tiny humans. But I’m finally entering the stage of parenting, with my kids nearly 10 and 13, in which my autonomy is gently being handed back to me — it’s so subtle I don’t always notice, but sometimes, I actually find myself with free time (GASP!!!) and the ability to listen to my inner voice and do what I really, truly want. But I also think that we shouldn’t wait for that to naturally happen — we should recognize that we have the right to ask for and enjoy enjoy freedoms all along the way.
In ten days, both my kids will be at sleepaway camp for two weeks, and I’ll have oodles of time to myself. (My youngest is already away and wow, one kid is a lot easier than two.) I have plans to visit a friend in Austin during this kid-free stretch, but other than that, my goal is to kind of …. do whatever I want. I mean, yes, I’ll have to work. But I’ll have no child-related commitments in the mornings or evenings. It’s really hard to wrap my head around this reality but I will tell you that I am HERE FOR IT.
What are some ways in which you’ve been able to enjoy independence lately, even if it’s just been for a few fleeting moments? Have you carved out time for yourself in some way or engineered a few moments of alone time? Or just … made choices that served yourself and no one else? I want to hear about them! I firmly believe we should celebrate these choices rather than hide them or feel guilty for them. We all deserve breaks. We all deserve to do things for ourselves. The more we can talk about and normalize these choices, the better off we all will be.
So please share your experiences, plans, hopes, dreams, etc in the comments. And Happy Independence Day!
Sarah McLachlan played a concert (including play thru of fumbling towards ecstasy, an album i listened to alone driving to or from college a lot and consider a seminal album for me) on my birthday a few hours fr my house this year. I went to the concert alone and at the urging of my husband made a weekend of it—drove to location the night before and spent 2 nights in a hotel. As a result I was ALONE on my birthday and it was glorious. I went for a long run in the rain, took myself out to tapas for lunch, got a good lawn seat for the concert, read my book while I waited for it to begin and enjoyed the concert. We celebrated my birthday with a homemade cake the day I got back after my birthday.
Part of me wishes the concert hadn’t been on my actual birthday but part of me loves that it was.
Yesterday my husband and I both took the day off to go for a long and strenuous hike together. It's the second or third time we have done this and it is so nice to be able to spend time doing something fun and challenging together for several hours! We are trying to spend 3 to 4 days a year this way (on PTO while the kids are in school/camp)