Earlier this week MacKay mentioned to me that he wanted to take Harlan with him Christmas shopping this weekend. This not might come as a shock to anyone, but it was a major shock to me. You see, MacKay gets very nervous when he has to be alone around Harlan for extended periods of time. This is not something I fault him for. He was away from her for the first nine months of her life and now that we all live together he is at work during the week. So you can imagine what a HUGE step this was for him to take on this be undertaking.
Throughout the week I kept waiting for him to tell me that he didn’t want to take her {I know, I shouldn’t doubt him.} But instead of backing out he kept telling me how excited he was to take her to explore the city with Harlan and have a daddy daughter day.
This morning he might have started having second thoughts though as I told him everything I had packed for her and what to do in case she has a meltdown. I also went through how to maneuver the Bugaboo in case he wanted to have her face him or lean the seat back {those things would probably scare most men away.} He listened intensely, hanging on to my every word, and before I knew it they were out the door and on their way!
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| Daddy and Harlan ready for their day together. |
Since this is the first time that Harlan has been with him for an entire day, this was pretty much the first time since being in the city that I have been away from Harlan for an extended period of time. I really didn’t know what to do with myself. My initial thought was to clean every nick and cranny of this apartment {why do I think this way?}. But in the back of my head I knew I would have probably made for a horrible, horrible day. Instead, I decided to really make the best of the opportunity and take the day for myself to do all the things I haven’t had a chance to do in a while.
First on my list was taking a long hot shower all by myself. This is something I haven’t done in months! {Harlan and I have a routine of taking one in the morning together and its my way of killing two birds with one stone.} I was also able to get ready without anyone bothering me or telling me I was taking too long. It’s the little things in this day that were making me oh so happy.
After getting ready I met my sister and we did some Christmas shopping and had some lunch. It was so relaxing. What made the day even better was that MacKay never called once! Not even to ask what time she needed to eat. He handled the day perfectly. I was the one who had to call him to check on everything. He said that everything was going great, although it was kind of tough doing shopping with her so he opted for lunch and the playground instead. I cannot tell you how proud I am of him. This was such a great step in his relationship with Harlan.
I got home this evening feeling so refreshed and ready to see my family. I am so grateful for MacKay taking this leap and deciding to take Harlan for the day. I really didn’t know how much I needed a break until now. I think that we, as mothers and wives, have a natural instinct to put everyone before ourselves. We want to make sure everyone else is content before we make sure we are. I am happy with my life that way. But I am also happy that I can have days like this that allow me to be selfish and cater to my needs.
What would you do with a day for yourself?
