Talking to grownups after kids
Raise your hands if you’ve had trouble talking to grownups after kids. If you’re like me, I tend to talk about work, or kids. My hobbies have dwindled. The last movie I saw had talking cars. And I only visit restaurants where “kid friendly” is listed near the top of the list of attributes.
Being a parent is lonely*
Let me clarify why. Being a parent is lonely when you realize there’s a whole world out there that you used to know inside and out and now you have no connection to. I know some parents do an excellent job of seeing all the latest films or still managing to eat at top restaurants, or making time for everything they did before kids. But that’s just not me. It’s hard to be part a conversation when you have nothing to bring to it.
Finding your way back
If your kids are still very small, find tiny ways like reading while they are napping, to get your grownup fix. If they are growing, try to draw them in to some of your former hobbies or loves so you are still learning and growing while you help them thrive. And when it’s time, bite the bullet and get a babysitter. Then steal time when you can. My husband and I have a date every Friday. And by date I mean we have them stay in aftercare for an extra 30 minutes so we can spend 1 hour (usually in empty restaurants) catching up and talking about life.
Catch up on the latest trends, from your couch
Lucky for us, some of the hottest things in pop culture are ready to stream at your fingertips. Once the Paw Patrol pups are tucked safely into the kids profile for the night, Netflix is an endless stream of hot, current shows that are sure to make it into grownup conversation. Stranger Things Season 2! I stayed up past my bedtime to binge all the episodes in 3 consecutive nights. It was amazing. But more amazing was how many great conversations I had about it in the days that followed. There was no talk about potty training or bedtime woes – unless you count how the creepy series was keeping me up.
I love parenting. But I must admit that I find it to be grown-up lonely much of the time. And talking to grownups after kids isn’t easy. Make few little tweaks to your routine. Give in to your willingness to stay up late and scare yourself silly. You might find, like I did, that the key to great grownup conversation is waiting for you under all those episodes of Beat Bugs and DinoTrucks.
As a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam, I do receive complimentary product from #Netflix as part of our ongoing partnership. All opinions are my own.
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