Footloose and Fancy Free

Due to the great fortune and inspired suggestion (mine) that the Grandparents take the children back with them from our holiday in the Dolomites, Enrico and I have been having a nice time 'dating', doing stuff that we couldn't normally do with the little ones in tow. So we went to a couple of concerts, stayed out till 5.30am after going late-night swimming at a friend's house (seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so good by about 3pm), having dinner out and even just walking out to get a bottle of water together. It's been lovely really, and a bit of a relief that it's so, to be honest. As the day for the children going drew closer, I have to admit hearing a little whisper in the back of my head which asked me, 'What on EARTH are you going to talk about/ do with yourselves without the kids??' after their constant presence for the past 5 years. Nearly six if you fancy counting in vitro.

It is a common problem, I think, in parents with young children, to find that their whole lives are just taken up with, consumed with, the little ones and not much else. I have noticed that even when I go shopping for our meagre two-people rations while they're away, I am having to consciously not buy things that have free gifts in them cos the boys might like them. Or that by far the majority of stuff I buy is bought with the boys in mind. 'Meagre rations' is not an exaggeration - for two little boys, they really do seem to require unfeasibly large amounts of groceries.

All our conversations revolve around the children too. A large part of Enrico's repertoire is taken up with impressions of the boys, so it was a worry that we would be left bereft of things that make us laugh together. But no, we are lucky, we are laughing just fine without the, 'Mummy!' or 'Daddy!' noise buzzing in the background.

I am starting to notice how boring the days are though. I find myself wanting to sleep for large portions of it (boredom, but also because it gets the hottest part of the day out of the way with the least discomfort, I think) and have little motivation or structure to my week. Where normally I would be getting breakfast ready, tidying the kitchen, general 'getting on with stuff', I'm not. I'm having lie-ins, doing bits and bobs till lunch then gearing myself up for a snooze with the aircon on.

I am sooo going to look back at this entry in about 3 months time and wonder what in heavens could possibly be wrong with such a blissful scenario! However, at the moment, I am rather looking forward to seeing their little faces and hearing all their stories in their stuttery, stumble-y voices. Only four more sleeps...