Sure, there are a lot of downsides to being a parent, like potty training, basically living in your car due to all the errand running, or getting your nipple bitten while your baby is nursing and teething. But there are also some unexpected joys hidden within parenthood. I’m talking about the things we once took for granted that now, since becoming a mom, feel like luxuries! Here are some of them:
Rides in the car alone.
This doesn’t happen very often and it’s eerily silent. You’ll probably have a few panic moments after looking in the rearview mirror, thinking, “Where’d I leave the kids?? “Oh wait. This is my time alone.” Parent luxury.
Not being touched.
This is just a given if you don’t have kids. Of course you aren’t be touched constantly by random strangers or even your friends! But once you have kids, your body is never your own. The few moments they are unconscious (sleeping, guys! Come on now) and you aren’t being touched or climbed on, those moments are a parent luxury.
A hot meal.
Eating your food while it’s still warm…. oh how I took this for granted! Before kids, I’d definitely notice when my meal was NOT warm. Now, after kids, I definitely notice if my meal IS warm! I’ve gotten so used to eating after everyone else is taken care of so cold spaghetti is my new, unintentional delicacy. But a hot meal, every once in a million meals? That’s a parent luxury!
Naps.
Once ignored and taken whenever you felt like it on a Sunday afternoon, naps are now a bargaining tool with the husband.
“I’ll bathe the kids and do the bedtime routine every night next week if you’ll let me nap on Saturday for as long as I want!”
“I’ll give you morning sex if you’ll let me nap later in the day?”
So worth it. Naps are a parent luxury!
Uninterrupted savoring of a cookie, ice cream or candy bar without having to share a crumb.
Before kids: sharing is a choice that showed your love and kindness. After kids: sharing is a necessity, in order to avoid tantrums and being bitten on the leg by your one year old. Sweet, fatty, all-to-myself snacks are parent luxuries.
Uninterrupted sex.
Before kids: feeling horny? Do it. Heck, do it twice! But after kids and feeling randomly horny: may the odds be ever in your favor. (Here are tips for mastering the 5-minute quickie, by the way. You’re welcome) Non-sleepy, uninterrupted, full-foreplay included sex becomes your most valued parent luxury.
Peeing alone.
Why? Why is this a thing kids HAVE to see you do? After the millionth time, it’s not that interesting anymore and surprise! Mommy wants her privacy! I guess randomly getting burst in on or hearing pounding on the locked bathroom door 9 times out of 10 just make that 1 time alone that much sweeter of a parent luxury.
Dodging snack duty:
Whether it’s for a play date, soccer practice, or class volunteering, not being asked to provide the snack for a group of kids is definitely another parent luxury.
Kisses, hugs, and cuddles just seem to mean more now.
Obviously, hugs from family members and friends were great before kids. Cuddling in bed with the husband, even if it didn’t lead to sex, was great. But since becoming a parent, and getting a pretty much endless supply of love from my crazy, adorable offspring…this might be the best parent luxury of all (tied with uninterrupted sex, of course).
What are some other parent luxuries you enjoy, now that you know better than to take them for granted?