An expert’s guide to treasure hunting for second hand home furniture
An expert’s guide to treasure hunting for second hand home furniture

IMAGE Interiors & Living

5 signs your relationship has run its course, according to a therapist
5 signs your relationship has run its course, according to a therapist

IMAGE

This Castleknock home has been given a warm, laid back update that works for the whole family
This Castleknock home has been given a warm, laid back update that works for the...

Megan Burns

This Kerry cottage has been brought back to life, and given a jaw-dropping new addition
This Kerry cottage has been brought back to life, and given a jaw-dropping new addition

Lizzie Gore-Grimes

Interior designer Geri O’Toole’s Limerick cottage incorporated old outbuildings for a gorgeous combination of old and new
Interior designer Geri O’Toole’s Limerick cottage incorporated old outbuildings for a gorgeous combination of old...

Megan Burns

Supper Club: Australian food stylist and author Donna Hay shares three tasty dinner recipes
Supper Club: Australian food stylist and author Donna Hay shares three tasty dinner recipes

Sarah Finnan

‘Deconstructing stereotypes’: The cult witch movie you need to watch on Halloween
‘Deconstructing stereotypes’: The cult witch movie you need to watch on Halloween

Jennifer McShane

This Wicklow home is full of rich colours and luxurious finishes
This Wicklow home is full of rich colours and luxurious finishes

Megan Burns

This gorgeous three-bedroom home is currently on the market for €565,000
This gorgeous three-bedroom home is currently on the market for €565,000

Sarah Finnan

The IMAGE staffers share their favourite perfumes on the market right now
The IMAGE staffers share their favourite perfumes on the market right now

Sarah Gill

Image / Editorial

5 Ridiculous Things That Totally Count As Me-Time When You Become A Parent


By Sophie White
10th Aug 2017
5 Ridiculous Things That Totally Count As Me-Time When You Become A Parent

Last weekend The Man and I had a row about who “got to go” to the dump.


Seriously there was a flurry of appeals back and forth, each of us trying to argue the case for why they should have the honour of driving the car o’ shite down the road on a blazing hot day to a small landfill.

With the day we’d had – several toddler-related stand offs and a lot of tears (theirs and ours) – I had recast the small landfill in my mind as an oasis of solitude. It wasn’t a small landfill but a boutique landfill. And it was definitely “MY TURN TO GO”.

This is a sad state of affairs. Menial, formerly dreaded life tasks become mildly attractive when you’re dying for a break from the round-the-clock shouting and perennial stickiness of being a parent. The dump represented an escape however brief from the demands of the spawn.

The demands of the spawn are, of course, part of what I signed up for and I literally wouldn’t trade it for any amount of leisurely hours perusing the local dump. However, sometimes I long to peel the children off my person where they seem to dwell twenty-four seven like adorable, yoghurt-coated leeches and wade out into the ocean of me-time with nothing to do but stare at a wall, slack-mouthed overcome by tiredness. That’s the most ridiculous thing, I wouldn’t even be aiming to pack my hypothetical me-time with activity, but quite the opposite. So here’re 5 Ridiculous Things That Totally Count As Me-Time When You Become A Parent

Solo Supermarket Trip?

It’s heaven. The Man is always suggesting he hit Aldi of a Saturday morning as if I don’t know what he’s up to. That child-free browse of the biscuit aisle is the stuff of Parental dreams.

A Trip To The Dentist/Doctor/NCT Centre?

You know you’ve hit peak parenthood when you see the reminder for the routine cervical smear and think “me-time!!!!”

The Solo Shower

A solo shower is rare post-kids, like unicorn-rare. So should one occur, for God’s sake savour it.

Gruelling Exercise

Okay for many healthy types, exercise may have?always represented ‘me-time’, but I spent many years hating the torture that is physical activity. However, since kids, I have taken refuge from my family in the gym. It really just shows what I’m willing to do to scrounge a bit of time alone with my thoughts.

That stretch of time between when you close the car door after putting them in the car seat and opening your own door to get in.?

Yep, that peaceful little stroll around the car is like a mini parenting holiday so soak it up. I don’t rush it but amble around the long way back to the driver’s seat when their protests will burst back into Dolby surround sound upon opening the driver’s door.