It’s Saturday morning at approximately 9:30am, and I’m back in bed. Because miracles do happen.
I have three glorious hours to myself this morning, and I’ve decided to spend them reading, editing photos, writing this quick blog post, and running an errand. I may even get really crazy and workout! The possibilities are endless!
This luxurious free time is made possible by my husband, who has decided to dedicate one Saturday morning a month to ‘Dads Morning’, which is essentially a playdate that frees up the moms to do whatever they want to. Glory, glory hallelujah!
This was Tim’s brain child, and I am 100% on board with it. As a SAHM, I take it for granted that I spend most of my mornings interacting with other moms and kids, so I get advice and see different interactions and swap battle stories with my peers. I’m glad that Tim is now able to do the same! Of course, we do have a lot of friends with kids, and we get together as families frequently, but it still isn’t the same dynamic as men and babies getting together, without the moms, to handle the kids and chat.
I think this dad playdate idea is accomplishing multiple things:
+ Most importantly (for me) – it’s giving moms a break!
Last month while the dads + kids played, the moms all went hiking together and it was wonderful! Today I’ve decided to stay in bed, instead, because sometimes it’s just nice to be at home without the chaos of kids begging for my attention.
+ Empowering dads.
I think it’s super, super important for dads to spend as much time as possible ‘alone’ with their kids. It’s vital that Tim knows I trust him with the girls and more than that, that I think he does a wonderful job. Some of Tim’s friends haven’t been dads as long as he has (a veteran at a whole 3 years of fatherhood!) so these morning playdates are a good way for the dads to spend time with their little ones out of the house, but in a non intimidating environment.
+ Enabling a different type of male bonding.
I think that men truly want to bond over dad stuff, but they (probably) don’t really want to talk about their kids over beers or while bowling or during any of the other activities men do during ‘bonding’ time. A playdate gives guys something to do, while simultaneously giving them the chance to chat about fatherhood.
If you have a little one (or multiple little ones!), and especially if you’re a full time SAHM, I encourage you to ask your partner for a morning off every month or so. I mean, you should probably get a morning off more often, but if you have an organized one every month, it really will give you something to look forward to! Encourage your partner to organize a playdate, or at the very least, take the kiddos out to the library/coffee shop/zoo/anywhere!
You’ll all feel more refreshed afterwards.
