On one of my blogs, I have written about how I value my "me" time, especially after becoming a mom. Now, I would like to zero in on "us" time. "Us" referring to me and my hubby.
Since becoming parents we suddenly found our hands very full and always occupied with a lot of things for the kids. Conversations always included or are always about the kids. Aside from taking care of my little boy, we also had jobs and house chores to juggle as well. It is indeed a challenge to find an "us" time for the two of us. I am pretty sure many parents can relate with us. Liam is always with us, he sleeps between the two of us every night, and soon, Sam will join us. On weekdays we sometimes find ouselves already too tired at the end of the day to even have a long conversation like we used to during our "courtship" days. We try to catch up with one another by having short phone calls within the day, updating one another of how the day has been for us, but talking more about our children. On weekends, we also have quality time with our children, we go to shops, or we have long drives every now and then or we just stay home, trying to catch up with the pending house chores as well. Busy days and happy days indeed for the family. But again, it is quite rare that we find ourselves alone to spend "us" time.
Last weekend, as we explored around Sydney Botanical Gardens, I finally found ourselves doing HHWW(holding hands while walking), just the two of us, no strollers, or Liam in between. In addition to this, we had the chance to talk, crack jokes and laugh about some things that don't concern our kids or the family. Just two adults having fun while strolling together. We were just enjoying each other's presence like we used to when we were still not married. And I felt good. Finally an "us" time! Probably you are asking where Liam is, well, while we were strolling, he was with his Lolo and Lola the whole time.
I believe that as a parent, a "me" time is essential. But as couples, an "us" time is as important. I realized that there are a lot of factors that come into the picture that hinders us from having the "us" time -- career, house chores and kids! Especially the kids! We sometimes find ourselves to engrossed in becoming the best parent and best provider for our children that we sometimes fail to realize that we shouldn't neglect the "us" time. Personally, having the "us" time doesn't have to be expensive. Just having a cup of coffee or breakfast together while Liam is still asleep can be a venue for us to have our "us" time. It can be as simple as me extending my waking hours so we can have those usual conversations about life, about how our day went, or about the movie that we saw, something to laugh about, something to be "kilig" about. I remember watching an interview of Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan before I got married. She said that she and her hubby try to make it a point to go out at least once a week just by themselves and talk about everything except about the kids. It nurtures their relationship with one another. It is very ideal indeed and I would love to have that as well. But looking at our situation, where there are no helpers available, we might just do away with the simple things I have mentioned, and later on, when the kids are a bit older, then maybe we can have more chances of having our "us" time. We can also grab opportunities, like the one we have now, our parents being here with us to help in taking care of the kids, to have our "us" time more frequently.
As a parent and an individual, "me" time is important. You feel refreshed and recharged, which in turn benefits the kids and the family. Likewise, I believe that as couples, we should also strive to have our "us" time. It will also benefit our kids and the family as well.
