Downtime?

I've always thought that we were busy people. We always had something to do, whether it was a local trip to Target or Stop&Shop/Wegman's, or a weekend trip up to Boston. It just always seemed like we were on the move. Looking back now I can see how much downtime we actually had before Kaylani.

Just to preface this, I'm not complaining that life is different now that we have Kaylani. I just can't believe how having a baby changes your perspective on certain things. I look at some of our friends and can't believe that just a few years ago (or even last year) we were as "free" as they are still.

Gone are our days of sleeping in, sitting around all day and watching TV/movies, going to the movies (was actually never a big fan anyways since it involved sitting still and staying quiet for 2 hours at a time), driving off to run errands whenever we so chose, or having dinner out on a whim. Now, they're replaced with early morning errands, naptime, quiet time around the house, and quick dinners at home before an early bedtime for everyone.

And instead of heading to bars to watch a game, or wandering around a mall or shopping for hours, we take trips to the park or to the zoo, or other family friendly environments where we can make a quick escape if necessary and don't have to worry about disturbing people if Kaylani happens to be cranky. Everything else is put on hold, or squeezed into the limited amount of time we have to ourselves, or more specifically, times when Kaylani is napping.

And when it all comes down to it, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have no real desire to sit at a bar all day anymore (even if the Yankees were on). I find sitting in front of the TV for more than 2 shows boring now (and tiring since we only do this after Kaylani is already in bed). TV during the day would mean Kaylani was watching too, and there are much better ways to help her develop. Making sure she gets her sleep and then taking her around to see new things and new places are what our lives have become about.

We got everything we asked for, and there's no way I'd want anything else. Well, except maybe a few hours a night this weekend to watch the Yankees and the Red Sox go at it. Good thing 2 of the games are night games and she'll be asleep already. Plus, watching baseball on TV is a good way to help her develop, right? No? Just me?