Back to life, back to reality

Before I start please let me apologise for that earworm; if you’re anything like me you’ll now be humming Soul II Soul all evening. 😉

Anyway. Today is the last day of our week-long visit to my in-laws. I’m very fortunate to have married into such a great family – they’re all lovely people and when we come to stay we’re thoroughly spoilt. The food is amazing, the company is excellent, the house and garden are spotless and spacious and the children get to spend proper quality time with family members that we don’t see as often as we’d like to.

But best of all is the relaxed atmosphere. While we’re here we don’t have to worry about bills or shopping, we don’t need to fret about how we’ll manage to give the children healthy food this week. I don’t have to aggravate my back by doing too much housework. I don’t have to look around our small, cramped, cluttered flat and despair of ever getting it presentable enough to have visitors.

In short, staying with the in-laws means abdicating most of our responsibilities. Obviously we look after the children but even that’s better here – I can be Fun Mummy instead of Stressed And Constantly Needing To Do Something Else Mummy. But tomorrow it comes to an end and we’ll go home.

You know how it feels when you’ve been swimming and buoyed up by the water? And as you walk out of the water you suddenly feel heavy and can feel gravity dragging you down? That’s how I feel at the moment. It’ll be good to see my family and I expect we’ll do some fun things this week while DD is still on holiday from preschool. But I can already feel the stress returning, I can feel my mood being dragged down by our imminent return to reality and responsibility.

I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here in this wonderful cocoon where I’m cushioned and protected from life’s stresses and strains and worries. I wonder if my in-laws would mind some lodgers…