There are many days when my children (and occasionally my husband and dog) drive me nuts. That’s when I daydream about my secret fantasy to live alone.
As a mother, you are never alone. Even if your children are in school, you are still surrounded by all their stuff and you think about them constantly in the back of your mind. There are so many times that my family is just too much and I wish for a break from all their drama. My secret fantasy is to live alone somewhere. The place changes often. Sometimes it’s a cute little cottage on the beach and sometimes it’s a loft in the city. Either way, it’s all mine. I only lived by myself for one year in college. It was in a dorm and my boyfriend spent the night most of the time, so it really wasn’t fully living alone. I don’t have much experience of solo dwelling, but my imagination supplies lots of options!
The biggest benefit of living alone is that all your stuff will stay exactly as you left it.
This is the main reason I fantasize about living by myself. As a mother, I leave the house for a couple hours and come home to a disaster zone. I had the audacity to leave for an entire weekend once and I almost didn’t recognize my own house. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the interior. I hate cleaning my house because my kids mess it up completely again within 24 hours. It’s so discouraging! In my fantasy world where I live alone, I never come home to a messy house. Everything is right where I left it. There are no stray Legos to step on or candy wrappers to find hidden in random places. Plus, I get the entire closet to myself!
To live alone would allow me to make my own schedule. As a mother, I have to mold my schedule into something that works with the schedules of my children and husband.
For example, I would love to sleep in late on weekend mornings. However, I have a husband, dog, and son who all arise by 6:00 am every single day of the year. I can’t even remember the last time I slept in. Without housemates, I could also go to bed at night whenever I felt like it. If I was tired one night, I could go to bed early without anyone else keeping me awake. Conversely, I could also stay up late other nights without keeping anyone else up.
Even better than that, I could come and go as I pleased without having to make plans with anyone else. If I wanted to stay out late, I could do that without having to worry about getting home to the babysitter and kids. It would be so easy to leave the house if I didn’t have to wait for three other slowpokes people to get ready. Best of all, I wouldn’t be a taxi service to anyone else’s school, sports, lessons, or other random destination.
Grocery shopping would be so much easier if I lived alone.
I could buy whatever I felt like that week. For example, I could buy and prepare some delicious cherry tomatoes without an entire chorus of family members moaning about how they hate tomatoes. Also, I would no longer have to buy a variety of cereals for everyone’s different tastes. Best of all, no one would eat any of my chocolate stash! If I lived solo, I would no longer have to hide my treats. Also, I would no longer have to cook supper every single night. If I didn’t feel like cooking, I could dash out to a restaurant or even just eat leftovers or a bowl of cereal. My leftovers would no longer disappear the moment I turn around.
And the noise. The noise would be gone. Oh, happy day!
My kids make so much noise. Even if they are perfectly happy, they yell as they run around and play. I don’t even want to think about the endless arguments. And don’t forget all the gadget noise. Between the television, tablets, and toys, there is a constant cacophony of sound in my house. The noise all competes with each other and it’s impossible to concentrate on any one thing. I would love to play the piano without screaming children or their annoying television shows making noise in the background. If the mood struck me, I could play loud music at night without waking anyone up. I mostly fantasize about laying in a hammock and reading a book with no one interrupting me for any reason. Pure bliss!
Even though my fantasy is to live alone, I know I would get lonely quickly. I enjoy talking to my family on a daily basis and soliciting their opinions on all sorts of topics. I also eat healthier when I am forced to cook a proper meal for everyone. That’s why living solo is just a fantasy. What is your secret mommy fantasy?
Love how you crossed out the word ‘slowpokes’ in the middle. Great comedic timing and humor there. My secret mommy fantasy is probably to have enough money to pay someone else to take care of everything else while I just get to do the fun part of parenting (playing, crafts, going on adventures).
I can totally relate to your fantasy, I some times think it myself.