Welcome back to another contribution to my Guest Blogger Series. This week we are hearing from fellow ‘Mum Blogger’ Rhian who blogs over at From Tum To Mum.
“Rhian was previously ‘normal’. Now a Mum. Blogging about blogs and other stuff. Ex-Londoner now living in the sticks.”
The lost hours – Life as a parent
The title of this blog might be a little misleading.
It’s not about sinking into darkness and losing the balance. It’s not about getting so drunk that whole evenings go missing. It’s not even about falling asleep on the sofa and wondering who actually won that endless BGT final.
No, it’s about something that happens to me almost every night.
Once the bedtime routine is taken care of, grown-up grub is prepared and devoured. The house is put back together and on a good day, it’s still only 8 pm.
Time to get the PJs on.
That’s when it happens.
I decide that I’ll get an early night. In reality, like most parents, I’ve usually decided this the moment I wake up.
I WILL be in bed by 9.30pm and I WILL be asleep by 10 pm. 10.30 pm at the very latest.
I’ll just check my emails. Then I’ll have a quick peek at Facebook. Oh, I have Twitter and Insta notifications, so I’d better just check those.
Damn, I remembered that I needed to order that thing off Amazon / check that route on Google Maps / upload my run on Strava / log onto my online banking etc.
Now my mates are piping up with hilarious #bants on WhatsApp. I’ll have to chip in.
Oh, it’s almost 10 pm. I’ve just wasted 2 hours fiddling about on my phone.
I missed my own curfew. And shish kebabs! I forgot to hang the washing out.
This is not going according to plan.
I’ll put the dog out, do the laundry really quickly, find the cats and feed them, and just check that the nursery bag is all in order.
10.30 is creeping up, but I’m done now. I kiss the girl goodnight and tuck her up (my favourite thing to do before bed).
Gah! I forgot to put the clean washing away that I dumped on my bed earlier. Oh well, tomorrow’s job.
*Dumps it on the floor instead.*
Wash face, brush teeth, have a wee. In bed.
It’s later than I’d have liked, but it’s still not quite 11pm.
I then spend the next hour adding reminders to my calendar that I forgot to do, replying to ‘one last message’, following a trend on Twitter, or just watching videos of Justin Bieber.
Hours of my life actually disappear before my very eyes.
In this age of technology and social media, I worry that this is a bad habit. We are so used to cramming so much into our day and having powerful little computers in our hand at all times, that we are forgetting to do the things that are most important.
SWITCHING THEM OFF.
Make time to relax and rewind. GO. TO. SLEEP.
Watching funny cat videos or Brooklyn Beckham’s latest hover board Insta clip won’t help in the morning when my little girl wakes me at 6.30am.
Sleep on the other hand, well that just might.
Maybe tonight…?
Follow Rhian at:
https://www.instagram.com/fromtumtomum/
https://twitter.com/fromtumtomum
https://www.facebook.com/FromTumToMum/
Big thanks to Rhian for guest posting this week. This really is such a great post! I TOTALLY relate to this and am my own worst enemy! I’m sure there are many, many others like us out there! Don’t forget to grab your ‘featured on’ badge from the bottom of the page.
If you would like to get involved in the Guest Blogger Series, drop me a message by filling in the form on my Contact Me page. I look forward to hearing from you.
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12 Comments
Ah, I feel your pain … and I too lose those hours.
Good luck in getting them back
#Blogstravaganza
I’m totally guilty of this! I always regret it in the morning and wish I’d got the sleep in when i had the chance! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
Happens to me every night 🙁
I’m guilty of this. #TriumphantTales
I have got a lot of piles of clothes by my bed, and the kids beds…. and on the kitchen table. Urg.. #triumphanttales
haha yep, sucker for cat videos here too! #TriumphantTales
This was me lol. But I have started turning my phone off about 10.30pm. Even if I don’t go straight bed It gives my mind time to unwind.
#TriumphantTales
This is me! I’m really bad at switching off.
#triumphanttales
This is me too, i’m trying to do so many things at once and get distracted a million times a day by social media, it’s so bad! #triumpanttales
I am one that does not lose hours at night. I can fall asleep on cue — staying asleep is a whole other ballgame. I get up very early and get all of those things you mentioned done at night, in the am! Go figure! #triumphanttales xoxo
i feel your pain, as I guess millions of others around the world do also #triumphanttales
This is the story of my life lol! I’ve lost count of the times I’ve promised myself an early night then around 2am see its too late for that!
Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes 🙂
Debbie