Parenthood may be fun and exciting and a never-ending adventure but spontaneous, it's not. Even leaving the house—something that once involved grabbing your purse and going—becomes a ten-minute ordeal of getting the kids bundled up, making sure you have the kiddie accessories you need (diapers, wipes, snacks, Epi-Pen, toys, juice boxes), strapping them into their car seats, running back into the house because you forgot their favorite DVD/doll/purple object.
Life can feel like the opposite of spontaneous when you have a kid with special needs, because things take extra planning. Like figuring out whether the place you're going is amenable/accessible to your child. Revolving your schedule around your child's feedings. Revolving your schedule around your child's therapies. Revolving your schedule around your child's...schedule.
Sure, sometimes on weekend we'll spontaneously go somewhere with the kids. And there are bursts of spontaneous fun, like making up silly songs or games. But I miss being able to pick up and go whenever, says this overscheduled mom.
Last night, for the first time in a while, Dave and I did something spontaneous. OK, we didn't fly to Vegas or get "Max and Sabrina forever" tattoos on our chests; we decided to get a babysitter and see a movie. On a school night. G-A-S-P!
We had cabin fever. The sitter was free. So we headed out to see Shutter Island. That movie was strange, let me just say, but it didn't matter.
We felt like two kids who'd snuck out.
It was awesome.
What's the last spontaneous thing you guys have done?
Photo by Guy Fawkes
