Yousra Another soft play, different day.
I picked up breathe, my favourite magazine last night and had a read of an article before bed. I took it as a sign, as it was about the Swedish culture of ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes’.
Everyday I say to myself I am going to take the children to explore the nature so they can learn to love it , but as soon as I leave the front door I will undoubtedly decide on a soft play, cafe, library or shopping centre. Why does consumerism win.
Luring me in with the cosy warmth then put attractive things infront of me and make me tap my card to pay with my invisible money, so that I can’t feel the hit.
I need to fix myself before I can start anywhere with my children.
‘Just one thing’ my oldest always tells me. ‘ I am just going to have a look’ he says. It drives me mad.
Slowly amping it up with each sentence.
‘But mama I need it’
Hold on, I am sure I do the same thing and even worse , aren’t I the one that put him in that situation in the first place.
So anyway, here we are at the soft play. Crawling around with baby Elias wrapped on my front trying to get to a crying Amira who needs me to go down the slide with her.
Abandoned coffee and croissant at the table. That’s my second one before midday , I know I’ll be running to the loo after that but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to take.
My other mum friend missing in action trying to round up her own children.
Us mums, we don’t really learn do we. The plan is always let’s go enjoy a coffee and a chat while the kids go inside and don’t come back out for an hour or two , once they have played their cute little hearts out and we have got our money’s worth.
The reality is, we are forcing them to go in and play. One gets stucks somewhere , the other falls and bangs their head, another is sitting in the corner and doing a poo that will most probably leak everywhere. Coffee gets cold , Croissant thrown in the mouth and swallowed whole. Kids all get hungry , an arm and a leg spent at cafe to get them to stop harassing everyone for food, they don’t eat it. you settle for the sugary snack. You are sweating and knackered, time to go, and the kids are miraculously playing contently and don’t want to leave… You have to drag them out screaming and crying and they fall asleep on the way home instead of in their cot , so they wake up as soon as you get back to start cooking.
‘Okay bye, that was super fun, maybe we can do it again next week’.
My plan for the rest of the day is to make food. Pick up Ali from school and take them to my mum’s to share the madness.
Amira already slept over her nap time. No food has yet emerged and omg need to leave in 20 mins!! But I’ve only changed Baby Elias nappy!
Run Run as fast as you can you can’t catch me I am a mum of three.
