Land in Hand

Joel and I Struggle, with a capital “s”, with Saturdays. If he’s off, he wants to get outdoors, work on projects and generally be on the move. Unfortunately for me, that means that I get to be…mommy. Again. Like every other day of the week. Being on Olson patrol on Saturdays doesn’t feel like much of a Saturday. It feels like Monday-Friday.

So we struggle because I want him to be able to enjoy his day off, but I usually am in desperate need of a day off as well. It’s hard being at home with Olson a bulk of the week. It’s wonderful and I’m grateful for it. But being a SAHM (stay at home mom) means that “home” becomes your “workplace” where you’re bombarded with cleaning and organizing and diapers and bills and watering the plants. And just like people want to get out of their office on the weekends, I want to be out of mine and not be concerned with laundry and picking up toys.

But last Saturday was such a beautiful concoction of all the things Joel and I need to feel rested and refreshed. We started the day munching on donuts at Chattz coffee and then went rock climbing downtown at High Point. I had never been there and am so excited to go back. Olson basically just ran around the whole time. Joel and I took turns watching him. We went with a few friends who were so gracious to help us keep an eye on him. It takes a village ya’ll even just to enjoy your Saturday! Eye roll. Our three friends we went with spent a LOT of time in the crazy mountain terrains of Nepal, so it was fun to rock climb and reminisce on their experiences navigating through ACTUAL mountains.

Then we ate tacos at Taco Mamacita and I got some gelato next door at Milk and Honey. We are penny pinchers and don’t like spending every weekend throwing food at various impulsive buys. Treating myself to good food is something that makes me feel like I’m on vacation. And Joel was kind enough to let me indulge myself. Then we headed home. Joel built a bird feeder and I got the inside of the house picked up. But I didn’t mind because I had had such a wonderful morning. Got my body moving and enjoyed the gorgeous downtown that we have here in Chattanooga. I think we ate a frozen pizza and most likely drank some hot cocoa before bed.

It’s so interesting that although Olson is already 15 months old, we still struggle sometimes with enjoying free time together. It’s been over a year since that little cutie came into the world and yet here we are, feeling in over our heads, trying to figure out how to be both parents and spouses and humans who need relaxation and enjoyment. Shoo.

Hope you all are having a good Valentine’s Day! I made Joel an album with the app “Chatbooks” that has all my favorite pictures of us from Instagram. Easiest format I’ve ever seen to convert all your social media pictures into an album. I love their marketing and the people behind the scenes seem like people I want to be friends with. Check them out on Instagram if you’re a parent like me and don’t have time to scrap book, or print pictures and put them all in an album. Or if you just want a way to keep track of all your lovely photos!

XO!