Girls’ day out

You know when you have a day that lifts you out of a fug you didn’t even know you were in? Saturday was that day for me.

Sleep deprivation has been kicking my arse a bit recently. There’s a whole other post to be written on the reasons for our current lack of sleep, but it’s fair to say things have been a touch… challenging.

The first twelve weeks with our baby girl were so easy that it was bound to happen really. But there have been days since Christmas where I’ve felt a bit like I’m drowning. Days where the house is a mess, my inbox is set to bulging, we have no clean clothes, and I can’t do anything about any of it because my hands are full of baby. For someone who likes to be in control, I’m reminded how unpredictable life with a tiny person can be.

Anyway. Saturday was a good day. We’ve been doing some redecorating at home, so I decided to take both girls out for the day and leave the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine at home to get on with the painting. 

That turned out to be the best decision I’ve made all week, because it led to this:

Baby girl happily watched her big sister’s swimming lesson and, afterwards, instead of heading home we made for the beach.

While the baby snoozed on me in her sling, her sister and I ate chips and ice cream by the sea (January diet’s going well). Then we walked along the beach, threw stones in the water and wrote our names in the sand.

We got home five hours later, bouyed by a day in the cold sunshine doing indulgent things. It reminded me that sometimes all you need to get yourself out of a funk is to get outside and spend some time doing fun stuff. It’s not exactly rocket science, is it?

Thinking about it, it was the first proper day out I’ve had on my own with both girls. And it’s one that we’ll probably do again very soon.