I
’
m having an affair. There, I’ve
said it. And no, it’s not something
I’m particularly proud of, but
the whole experience is just so
incredibly delicious. The wining and
dining, luxury hotels and all those
hasty trips abroad have left me truly,
madly and oh so deeply in love! I
honestly never meant for it to happen,
but, like all good illicit affairs, it was
kind of accidental.
I’d been hanging out with a
mummy friend of mine (not the
Egyptian kind) and after a few drinks,
we decided that we deserved a gift
for making it through our first year of
motherhood. Most people would just
treat themselves to a couple of hours
of pampering, but not us. Oh no! The
lethal combination of far too many
drinks and the kind of exuberance
that can only come from two women
out on the town without their babies
resulted in an excellent decision. We
were going to get on a plane and go
somewhere! Not the most solid of
plans, but a plan nonetheless.
The very next day, despite
considerable hangovers, we booked
ourselves on a weekend break to Hanoi.
Well, I say “weekend”, but what’s the
point in leaving on a Friday when we
could just as easily leave on a Thursday
night? And really, what’s the point in
leaving on a Thursday night when we
could catch the lunchtime plane? So
it was settled. We left our husbands
behind with the babies and bolted.
The affair began almost
immediately. The sheer excitement
of boarding a plane carrying only
a small handbag had my heart all
aflutter. Even the trip to the hotel in
a slightly battered taxi did nothing to
quell the butterflies in my stomach.
Over the following three days, I was
treated to all kinds of luxuries: A
relaxing shower every morning instead
of one accompanied by the screams of
a small child. Breakfast with not one,
but two, whole cups of coffee that I
actually got to finish before they went
cold. Restaurants that were chosen
simply because I liked them, and not
because they had a highchair. But I
knew I had truly fallen in love when I
found myself having a long, post-lunch
nap. That was it for me. I was head-
over-heels in love with myself and
there was no going back.
Since then, my self-affair has taken
me to Paris, New York, Morocco and
back to Vietnam again. And each time
I return a little happier, a lot calmer
and, dare I say, almost joyful. So I’m
declaring it a right of motherhood.
From this day forth, each and every
mum must commit to an affair with
herself, and this, my friends, is exactly
how we’re going to make it happen:
•
Book it! Begin each new year by
booking yourself on a long weekend
away. The only rules are no children,
no husband, one girlfriend and a
handbag (preferably your own).
•
Claim it! Start claiming as many
days as possible as Official Mum’s
Days Off. Begin with your birthday,
then Hong Kong Mother’s Day,
then grab some other country’s
Mother’s Day before claiming your
first child’s birthday as your official
Motherversary. With some clever
planning you could find yourself
spending increasing amounts of time
at the spa!
•
Share it! And finally, pass the word
on to every new mum you meet.
Text it, email it, Facebook it, tweet
it … you get the message. So make
sure they do, too.
You know, there’s an old saying
that goes, “Happy Mummy, happy
family”, so why not look on this
as a duty to ensure your family’s
happiness? A sanity break for you = a
world of happiness for them. We may
just have ourselves a win-win!
Orla Breeze offers workshops, evenings and
individual sessions for new parents and
parents-to-be. For more information, visit
www.orlabreeze.com
. She also runs her
popular workshops Daddy 101, The Truth
About Motherhood and Joyful Parenting at
Annerley. Please click on
www.annerley.com.hk
to check the dates of her next workshops.
Here’s one extra-marital excursion that benefits
the whole family, writes
Orla Breeze
.
February 2013
35