What I love about not having any kids right now.

I think everyone knows how much I'm looking forward to being a mom. (Yes, God knows, too, don't worry. Haha.) But today I thought I'd go in a direction that's a little bit different. Who knows how long this season of life will last? Until it ends, I am determined to enjoy it!

Can I just tell you ten things that I love about not having any kids?

1. Sleeping in on Sunday! When I was growing up, Sunday was NEVER a sleep-in day. (To be fair, I never considered 7:30/8:00 AM to be "sleeping in" though.) A Sunday at our house starts with a peaceful morning of sleeping 'til 7:30, then leisurely taking the dog to the lake and enjoying our coffee together while talking about the upcoming Sunday school lesson. Usually we're good with the coffee - maybe I'll make some eggs or something if one of us wants more food - but I never have to worry about making a big breakfast. Around 8:40, I start getting myself ready (just myself!) - then it's out the door at 9:00 for a relaxing drive to church. Let's contrast this with the reckless rush and constant frustration of Sunday mornings at my childhood home, shall we? My mom was (and still is) very organized, so I blame the chaos on all of us dang kids!

2. Enjoying my hot cup of coffee, from start to finish, with NO interruptions. None! Ditto with devotions, movies, phone calls, shopping trips... etc.

3. Everything takes just as long as I want it to it take. For example, this blog post has taken me about two days to finish. I just kept getting distracted by... well, what I wanted to be distracted by! (Facebook, conversations with Brian, another trip upstairs to raid the kids' Wednesday night class candy stash.) For another example, if I want to take twenty minutes to get ready, I can do it in twenty minutes. I don't spontaneously poop or vomit all over myself on my way out the door. Score!

4. Sometimes, when I realize I'm out of an ingredient for dinner, I hop in the car, drive to the grocery store 5 minutes away, buy it, and make it home in under 20 minutes. Probably not going to happen when I'm toting a baby around!

5. Lack of debilitating constant guilt. (Cue dark music: dun dun DUN.) I struggle with feeling guilty about a lot of things, some of them legitimate and some of them probably ridiculous. I believe it will probably worsen when I start raising kids. Sometimes (for some trite examples) I raise my voice at Brian, or get burned out on eating healthy and consume junk food all day. When these things happen I feel bad, but I know I'm just hurting myself (or Brian, but he can handle it). I like to think I will never do those things again once I have children. I'm sure I will, though, and then where will I be? Apologizing incessantly to every breathing thing in my house and paying penance for days! Want a ticket to that carnival?! I'm not looking forward to that.

6. The possibilities of the future. I definitely want children, and I'd have a few as of last year if that were an option. But now is obviously not God's time, and I don't know when that's going to be. Until then, I will enjoy dreaming about what may come down the pipe in a future without kids. Maybe we'll move to Dubai or Bahrain so Brian can work a contractor position overseas (he assures me that this isn't going to happen but I'm trying to illustrate a point here). Maybe we'll start our own business together. Maybe I'll finish my cross-stitch project. And then there's that other thing - dreaming about the perfect child. Mine is a fat, little, easygoing, bald baby who rarely cries, is not very mobile, and grows into a docile child that asks cute questions and never acts defiant or overtired. Until I have my real baby, I'm going to enjoy the dream one.

7. Fall doesn't mean 'school supplies!' For most of my life the approach of fall has always filled me with sadness and dread... a new school year. But for the past few years, all it's meant is a long-anticipated break from the hot weather and a chance to lay out on the hammock at night with Brian. Oh yeah, and the approach of Thanksgiving! My birthday! Hunting season and trips up north to see family! You all know how much I love fall! And I love it even more when I'm not worrying about how to get the best discounts on binders and glue sticks.

8. I cleaned the upstairs floor a couple weeks ago. It's still perfectly clean. No one's been up there.

9. Weekends are blissfully relaxing. Quiet... low-key... sometimes I have nothing. to. do. I have to find things to do! I love that.

10. I only miss my family 85% of the time. If we had a baby down here in NC, and our families were still all the way up in MI, I'd miss them 100% of the time. I'd grieve for the lost Sunday dinners, the Mother's Day brunches spent with both grandmas, the cute moments enjoyed only by Brian and me... and no one else. I'd be frustrated by the limitations of Skype. I'd dread the long car trips (which are fairly easy for now, but will be much longer and more arduous with a baby in the backseat). I'd worry that the close bond I shared with my cousins wouldn't be enjoyed by my kids and their cousins. I'd miss my family 200% of the time - 100% of now and 100% of the future. (Don't try to make sense of that... I get it, don't worry.)

But for now.... eh, all they're missing is Brian's farts and my griping!

P.S. But you'd better believe that when I see a positive pregnancy test, all these things will go flying out the window. I'm reeeeeally looking forward to having a little one... or seven.