a day to myself

a rare treat indeed today - a day completely to myself. well, to clarify for the non-mothers out there, that means about four hours of free time after cole has eaten breakfast, played and gone down for a nap. jamie had the day off today and he sent me away - apparently my lunatic ravings have earned me a day of fun. he insisted that i needed some time to myself and i thoroughly agreed. ;-)

so what did i do with my free time? well, before it even started it was stressing me out. free time - what should i do? or what would i like to do, which is different. oh, and i should add that this free time must of course be out of the house, otherwise i would have gotten creme brulee and watched all six hours of the bbc version of pride and prejudice while lying in the world's most comfortable fresh new pajamas. my daily routine with cole (eat, play, cole sleep, me work, make food, eat, go out, play, cole sleep, me work, make food, jamie home, eat, play, bath, sleep) has become so ingrained that it was like suddenly being told the laws of gravity don't exist. anything? really? places that are inaccessible by stroller? places that don't like cracker crumbs on the floor? things that involve many stops that would normally be too annoying because getting a baby in and out of a car seat, no matter how jovial he may be, is not exactly relaxing?

in the end i kind of mentally prepared a rough list of things i'd like to do, because otherwise i felt like i'd just drive around aimlessly and end up running errands. i am not a structure-loving person, and this is what baby-raising has done to me! i wanted to do a little non-downtown clothes shopping (since bemoaning my lack of clothing is a favourite pastime), get a tasty lunch, read, sit someplace quiet and then i had to go pickup some craft supplies that i'd ordered from a new supplier.

so i did. got a cute cardigan (yes, i know it's july. again) and a really cute pair of brown plaid peep-toed high-heeled shoes (on sale, impractical for my current role as mother/worker-from-home/hausfrau). tried on many impractical and mostly ill-fitting clothes without having anyone mooching crackers in exchange for patience. almost bought a pair of nearly great-fitting expensive jeans that were on sale. savoured the time to debate the decision. had lunch to-go from the secret garden and ate it on a blanket under the shade of a tree at van dusen gardens, way at the back in my secret spot beside a babbling brook. and then made a stop for my much sought-after organic cotton toy stuffing in a place without an elevator. oh, and i even stopped to buy lemonade and a rice krispie square from some adorable blonde children (cole would have liked that stop). they served the lemonade (fifty cents!) in a real cup so i had to stand there and guzzle it while making small talk (how's this corner workin' out for you?).

it was a really grand day. jamie's dubbed it "mother's day" and we've decided it must be a monthly occurence.