An hour of quiet time is a rare thing when you’re a mama. I’m here to tell you it will be yours again someday. Would you believe it will happen even when the kids are home? And I’m not talking about when they’re napping! One day, they’ll be off doing their thing and you’ll look at the clock and think to yourself no one has called MOMMMMMY in over an hour. And then you might freak out and ask yourself did I leave the kids somewhere, are they ok, what have they gotten into? And then you’ll remember, they are old enough to fend for themselves for longer periods of time and you’ll celebrate! It’s not that you don’t love playing with blocks or putting tiny plastic clothes on tiny plastic dolls. You do. I’m sure you do, right? But you’ll celebrate this newfound independence day!

So here’s how that aha! moment went down for me last weekend. Let me set the stage for you: The weather outside is beautiful – a warm 60 degree sunny day. We have an amazing new swing set in our backyard complete with an actual playhouse with a door that closes, a huge slide, a ladder and a rock climbing wall. (thank you neighbors who grew big!) I’ve got stuff to do in the kitchen but the kids (3 and 5 ½) are underfoot. They’re entertaining themselves, but they are literally under my feet playing kitchen or school or something. Do you want to play outside kids? YES!! Then go, enjoy yourselves, stay in the yard, don’t hit each other and call me if someone breaks their arm. And don’t talk to strangers!

And so there they were for hours playing in the backyard with little to no supervision needed. They would come in every once in a while to request a snack or a drink. I’d holler out to them every once in a while to make sure they were ok. I kept a good eye on them and kept an ear out too. I sent my best furry friend out with them to alert me to anyone entering the yard unannounced. And it was glorious! I got all of the lunch stuff prepped for the week. I got my inbox cleared out. I relaxed in a comfy chair near the window while listening to their games – construction, house, gardening. Up the ladder they went. Down the slide they went. Into the garden they went. Out of the garden the soil went. They were downright filthy. But they were entertaining themselves and loving it. And I was too. This weekend the weather was gorgeous again and we had a repeat afternoon – hours of pure enjoyment in the backyard. Spring has sprung!