Those were the days

I'll probably regret writing this post tomorrow, but for today ... right now ... I'm remembering how things used to be.

I remember when I didn't have a specific time to leave work every day. I could stay as long as I wanted. I didn't have to watch the clock. I didn't have to rush to get the final pieces of my day taken care of, then figure out if I had time to stop at the bathroom before I left. When I didn't have to rush out the door and across the parking lot to my car, then fight traffic to get to day care to keep from having to pay late charges.

I remember getting to go wherever I wanted after work and being able to stay as long as I wanted. I could look around in a store without having to worry about whether a tantrum was going to cut my shopping trip short. I didn't have to have snacks or tiny little cars in my pocketbook. Oh, and if I didn't stop at the bathroom before I left work, I could go BY MYSELF to a public bathroom without worrying how I could keep little hands from touching everything in sight.

I didn't have to have dinner ready by 7 p.m. every night. I could eat dinner whenever I wanted to eat it. And after dinner, I could do whatever I wanted. Read a book. Look at a magazine. Watch TV.

Then I could go to bed far too late, then get up far too late. But it was okay because I didn't have to get anybody ready except for me.

I wouldn't trade being a Mama for anything in the world. But sometimes, I like to remember when things were simple.