Kid-Free and Fancy-Free

This week I found myself in the strange position of being kid-free. It is eleven nights in total of empty beds, too long really and something I’d been trying not to think about since their trip to Fiji was first booked last year.

Like most parents, we can’t wait to get our rowdy children tucked into bed so as to have a little down time at the end of the day. I have long held a ritual of doing the rounds one more time just before I go to bed to check all is well. Looking at their angelic, sleeping faces, all is forgiven and I find myself wishing I’d been more patient earlier.

On that last evening before their flight, I made the time to sit down with them on the couch and just hang. We didn’t do anything in particular but I could tell they loved having their mum’s undivided attention and, while the twins couldn’t stop hugging me, even the oldest, who stopped showing affection some time ago, sidled up.

I put on a brave face bidding them farewell, then turned away and burst into tears. This was the longest I wouldn’t see them, it was their first overseas experience and I guess I was feeling a little sorry for myself.

“Give the house a good clean, then sit back and enjoy it,” said a fellow parent when I dared to mention my situation.

But I seem to spend my life cleaning and, in the back of my mind was the memory of a family story I’d been told years earlier of the grandmother whose family had come to stay. Tragically, the plane went down on their return and, long after losing her family, she couldn’t bring herself to wipe away the handprint of her wee grandson on her ranch slider.

I realised I was being utterly ridiculous and my lucky kids would be having a ball. I allowed around one hour to wallow then told myself to get over it. This was an opportunity and I needed to make the most of it. I did clean the house. I also contacted several friends I have not caught up with for months and organised walking dates with them. I drummed up a whole lot of work, seeing as my hours of washing and cleaning and chauffeuring to hobbies had been dramatically reduced.

And then the best part of all – I booked a holiday. It was only brief and it certainly wasn’t in the tropical climes of Fiji, but I did the next best thing and sought out a luxury resort in Northland with palm trees!

Sitting there with the double doors thrown open, looking out to sea, I could almost imagine the heat pump behind me was a balmy breeze.

It did the trick and then came the call I had been hoping for – my kids’ little voices, sounding like they were just up the road. And, yes, they were indeed having the time of their lives, swimming and playing with the other kids, spending their pocket money at the markets and making the most of the all-you-can-eat buffets.

As I write this, there are four more days until they return and I will continue to make the most of it because, before long, it will be crazy-town around here once again. However, I admit I’ve had to pull their bedroom doors shut – their rooms are just too tidy.