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Free time. Free time without children. Free time without children in the city.
When I realized this event would actually come to pass, I was delighted. And then, inevitably, I was stumped.
This is a common problem for moms. Ridiculous, but common.
Somewhere between our single days and our diaper bag days, we lose our ability to effortlessly squander countless hours in the name of Why The Hell Not.
Back then, I took those hours for granted. I remember spending days - whole friggin' days - reading and sipping coffee at Zoka, or sitting on the shores of Greenlake and staring into space, or stringing beads, or God knows what else one does on a blanket in the sun when children aren't wiping slimy, sunscreen-laden fingers on your legs.
Usually, I'd arrive with the intention of doing something really worthwhile or brilliant, but in the end...not so much.
I considered it down time, or mental prep for a busy night, or my respectable attempt to meet a guy. And it helped that the only creature waiting for me at home was my feline (yes, the same feline that still waits for me today...she's that old!).
But now, the art of wasting time is one of my lost crafts - like knitting or cooking with tofu. When given a free moment during the day, I end up scouring cookbooks/Pinterest for dinner ideas, picking up the same toys for the millionth time, or, if I'm totally fried, zoning out to Candy Crush (damn you, jelly!).
I can't just sit there anymore, staring out the window with my hand on a mug of coffee, my mind wandering to that glittery middle distance of my early 20s.
This is a common problem for moms. Ridiculous, but common.
Somewhere between our single days and our diaper bag days, we lose our ability to effortlessly squander countless hours in the name of Why The Hell Not.
Back then, I took those hours for granted. I remember spending days - whole friggin' days - reading and sipping coffee at Zoka, or sitting on the shores of Greenlake and staring into space, or stringing beads, or God knows what else one does on a blanket in the sun when children aren't wiping slimy, sunscreen-laden fingers on your legs.
Usually, I'd arrive with the intention of doing something really worthwhile or brilliant, but in the end...not so much.
I considered it down time, or mental prep for a busy night, or my respectable attempt to meet a guy. And it helped that the only creature waiting for me at home was my feline (yes, the same feline that still waits for me today...she's that old!).
But now, the art of wasting time is one of my lost crafts - like knitting or cooking with tofu. When given a free moment during the day, I end up scouring cookbooks/Pinterest for dinner ideas, picking up the same toys for the millionth time, or, if I'm totally fried, zoning out to Candy Crush (damn you, jelly!).
I can't just sit there anymore, staring out the window with my hand on a mug of coffee, my mind wandering to that glittery middle distance of my early 20s.
So, that day in the city, I knew I had to come prepared. If I was going to cash in some seriously overdue solo hours, it would have to be semi-productive, because that's just a part of who I am now.
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I brought a book and my computer, and I found this adorable little shop on the corner of 22nd and Madison - Queen Bee Cafe. Considering the unpredictable nature of Capitol Hill, it was a total crap-shoot, but well-worth the 20 minutes I spent trying to find a parking spot for my behemoth mini-van (which I honestly love, btw).
Every corner of the cafe was beautiful, from the bathroom to the tables to the wallpaper to the lighting. They specialize in hot chocolate and crumpets. Crumpets! The coffee is divine and they donate a portion of their proceeds to local charities.
I read my book and worked on my writing. I people-watched and brainstormed. And when I began to get twitchy, I reminded myself that Candy Crush is a devious, mind-sucking siren, one that must be resolutely ignored. And I did just that.
It was a fantastic hour and a half.
Yep. That was it. Ninety minutes, folks. But I'll take what I can get, especially since it aided in the discovery of that little cafe on Madison.
And it reminded me that, someday, when my babies have pushed aside the barnyard gate and escaped into the pasturelands of adulthood, I will return to my days of squander. More hours than I can handle. A bittersweet realization to be sure, and one that made me snuggle their tiny bodies even more when I returned home.
But when that later-life someday does come, and it will, I hope to relish it like I did my stag years. My Why The Hell Not years. Only this time, with decades worth of knowledge and experience under my belt, it had better be a lot less turbulent and a lot more satisfying.
.JPG "meggiewrites.blogspot.com")
.JPG "meggiewrites.blogspot.com")
.JPG "meggiewrites.blogspot.com")
Every corner of the cafe was beautiful, from the bathroom to the tables to the wallpaper to the lighting. They specialize in hot chocolate and crumpets. Crumpets! The coffee is divine and they donate a portion of their proceeds to local charities.
I read my book and worked on my writing. I people-watched and brainstormed. And when I began to get twitchy, I reminded myself that Candy Crush is a devious, mind-sucking siren, one that must be resolutely ignored. And I did just that.
It was a fantastic hour and a half.
Yep. That was it. Ninety minutes, folks. But I'll take what I can get, especially since it aided in the discovery of that little cafe on Madison.
And it reminded me that, someday, when my babies have pushed aside the barnyard gate and escaped into the pasturelands of adulthood, I will return to my days of squander. More hours than I can handle. A bittersweet realization to be sure, and one that made me snuggle their tiny bodies even more when I returned home.
But when that later-life someday does come, and it will, I hope to relish it like I did my stag years. My Why The Hell Not years. Only this time, with decades worth of knowledge and experience under my belt, it had better be a lot less turbulent and a lot more satisfying.
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