Happy Independence Day!
Fireworks crack outside our window.
“Aren’t they done yet? Don’t they realize people have kids in these homes?”
Another loud boom.
“That’s it! If they wake the kids up with their nonsense I am dropping off the screaming children with them. They can deal with it!”
We live in a beautiful southern suburb with a penchant for holiday celebrations. But something about July Fourth has always irked me since I became a mom. And it’s not just the blasting “fun” taking place outside my window. It’s the idea of celebrating our individual freedom. As a mother with two small boys, I barely get a chance to sit and eat food, let alone do the things I want to do. There is a wise saying floating around the web. Something about your time and energy being 70% for the kids and 30% for yourself. Often times it feels like 110% kids and -10% me, which makes for a very sourpuss attitude toward celebrating independence.
In the words I can’t believe I am quoting from my mother: time for an attitude adjustment.
There have to be some freedoms I have in my life that I can appreciate. I just need to examine my daily routine a bit closer. I am in fact able to take a short shower in peace with the help of cartoons for the bigger one and (gulp) a box of tampons for the baby. He sits on the bathroom floor and takes each one out, appreciating the fabulous crinkling sound. So thank you, tampons, for my moment of semi-solitary freedom. I should probably also be appreciative of every construction truck working on the road that gives me time for independent thought as my boys stare transfixed at these idolized behemoths. And I will begrudgingly acknowledge my double jogging stroller. While it is an absolute beast to wield, it gives me the freedom to exercise several times a week.
I may not be free to do whatever I choose, whenever I wish to do it, but I can find moments of freedom to appreciate everyday. And that is something to celebrate.
Happy Independence Day!!
By: Arielle Haughee – This honest confession will be featured in our Summer Edition, 2016
ScreaminMamas 