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Today is my day off!

Well that thought takes me back to pre baby days when Friday's used to be the most awaited day of the week! Waiting to chill out after a long week of really long meetings, calls, presentations and deadlines! Come Saturday and it was officially declared as my day off!


3 years into this job of a MOMMY (almost 2 years of full time stay at home mom) and Friday has suddenly become the new Monday!!(argh weekend already??no preschool??parks will be crowded!?? how do i keep her entertained over the next 48 hours??) and that is the moment of truth where i transformed from being a die hard Friday Junkie into a Friday Grouchy!!!Now weekend translates into 2 days of a highly spirited lil A(thank you, Krispy Kreme) looking forward to 2 days of super fun. Did i not mention the innumerable “whys” that will be shot my way!?(My current BFF is google!).Is her mother ready for the action packed weekend that beckons her?(oh thank you , Coffee Day Cold Coffee).So i finally decided to put the “today is my day off” spirit to test! Now hold on before you think iam actually physically gonna head to camp in the himalayas or the closest mall over the weekend(sigh).I plan to test the idea in my head(say what?) by switching off in my mind is what i decided to do.I started by waking up and telling myself “ its a weekend after all and things could just get worse over the next few years- tweens/teens/adults!!!”So last saturday i put on the fun person cap(note the reference to person and not mom) and decided to have a great day with my Lil A!

My agenda was simple:Tune out my over protective over bearing (s)mothering self for these 2 days and just switch off mentally to the responsibility of bringing up a disciplined , well mannered , well behaved , gentle human being(err till monday i.e.).Sometimes i feel it is the onus/pressure of bringing up and giving shape to a good human being that takes all the joy out of s(mothering) oh sorry mothering right away from you!! Nevertheless 2 days in a week would not really shape my child’s behaviour (i hope!) and also give me a breather from donning the mommy hat for a day or two every week!(whew!)Thus Project un"MOM" begins!!Day started with oodles of hug and kisses followed by very little brushing of the teeth(which otherwise is a dreaded mission in the mornings!). Every "why" was answered with a lot of enthusiasm so much so that after a while lil A stopped asking me questions. Maybe its because she knew she had all my attention/she just got bored of all the answers or enthusiasm or both? All the playtime had my undivided attention sprinkled with lots of hugs and kisses again interspersed by doing really silly things that she loves .I did let her take the lead and and just followed instructions.no distractions none whatsoever. bye bye Facebook/whatsapp!I even managed to go through the day without saying the tantrum trigger!(NO!!) I took it easy as i had decided i would not be thinking about cooking a nutritious meal or making sure she eats and displaced all other worries that inundates a mother. Today is my day off...7)There were no meltdowns , no massive effort from my end (to wage a war or bring peace) but yeah she watched some tv, played some games on the phone, ate meals without any veggies or fruits to complete it (don’t judge me!)So What? Don’t we all like to have an off day now and then.

Both lil A and I were very happy at the end of the day and made me feel less of her mother and more of a friend. the icing on the cake was when she said "you are my most favourite person in this whole world". Imagine such a big and strong sentence with just one day of un"mom"ing. That kinda made my day / month/ year or even a decade.

Will i take more days off?i might, it makes me stress free and live a little - so why not?Lesson Learnt: Sometimes it is important to take the day off , switch off from all mommy responsibilities and enjoy being your lil ones partner in crime ;)

So go ahead take your day off:)

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