“I’m going to miss you Mummy.”
This sentence alone is enough to melt any Mummy’s heart as she stands, feeling the new chill in the September air, waiting for the doors of Playgroup to open and welcome her small child within. But when that sentence is swiftly followed by the heart string tugging fall of said child’s tiny face as she trudges through the aforementioned doors, it’s enough to send one over the edge into a swirling panic involving bundling the small child up in one’s arms and making a run for it before the register is ticked and the ‘point of no return’ has been well and truly passed.
Instead, this particular morning, I decided to take the route of distraction. Generally involving mention of some kind of foodstuff or favourite toys, distraction is one of the most commonly used tools in my Mummy arsenal. A simple mention of the sumptuous (to a toddler anyway) lunch I will have ready for my little lady on her return home is enough to cheer her such that the toys within the small room beckon and, after a gorgeous kiss and a “bye Mummy, love you” she skips happily off to busy herself with her morning’s chosen activity.
I can’t believe it has come around so quickly, but the days of Playgroup have arrived already at the Bowman house. A mere two mornings a week at this early stage, but the transition from full time toddler at home to ‘big girl’ at Playgroup seems (seeks some conveniently placed wood to touch) to have gone smoothly. We’re now a few weeks into this new and exciting stage of life and my little lady has taken to it like the proverbial duck to water.
So what am I doing with the newly found hours of ‘me time’ this regime allows? Huh, mainly washing, ironing, cleaning, hoovering, dusting and restocking the cupboards. Not all that exciting at first glance. But after almost three years of having to plan every outing to the nth degree, it’s quite refreshing to welcome back that element of ‘popping’ into my life. I can leave the house with nothing but my handbag and a merry whistle – at least for six hours in every week. Lovely.
And I’m absolutely making the most of it, because this rediscovered freedom has a very real time limit. You see, I have a confession to make. The little Bowman household of three jolly souls is set (very, very set) to welcome another little member at the end of the year. New Year’s Eve actually, so who knows when our numbers will expand?
So yes, I’m making the most of these mornings while I can. I adore my family and I wouldn’t swap any one of them for anything in the world. But I can’t deny that a few sanity restoring hours to myself are a total luxury of which I’m growing very fond. But I know that, at the strike of midday, when I step back through the Playgroup doors to collect my gorgeous first born, her high pitched, joy filled exclamations of “Mummy, yeay, Mummy, Mummy” will fill my heart more full with joy and pride than could any amount of hours of ‘me time’.
by Helen Bowman © 2013
Helen Bowman is a freelance writer, editor and proof reader who lives in Whitley Bay and works with small companies, individuals and groups to write, edit and proof read articles, press releases, website copy and all forms of the written word.
Contact her on 07725 196929 or at helen@in-the-detail.co.uk for more information.