Wednesday 24 March 2010

The Gallery - Me


This is me.  The one on the right. Very small and behind the camera.

That's not supposed to say anything about my state of mind.  Just that Tara set us Me as the challenge for this week's gallery, and although I could have reposted the one of my tummy, or found one in which I look relatively presentable, or found a more representative one with babysick and unwashed hair, I've decided to go for this.

Because this was taken on a day, in a weekend, that was all about me.  Not L, A and S's mummy. Me.

For Christmas 2008 my Mum and Dad gave us a weekend away.  The intention was that they would have the girls and would contribute to a hotel so that we could have a weekend off.  Of course at Christmas 2008, S and A were 14 days old, so it was some while before a weekend away was a real practicality, but we started thinking about it the following October and I realised that what I really wanted to do was have a weekend at home, no children, to do the stuff that I like doing when I only have myself and B to think about.

So we did.  I took the Friday off work to do the laundry and clean and pack for the girls (so as not to have to do any of these things over the weekend) and my mum came and picked them up (she's an angel in human form, as I may previously have mentioned).

And on Saturday morning we woke up at 6.  And it was bliss.  Because we went "Oh, it's 6 o'clock", rolled over and went back to sleep... We woke up again, in our own bed, a bit later, and got up a bit later still (ahem).   It was a glorious day and we had no plans, no children and no responsibilities.

We had breakfast sitting outside in a cafe, with big cups of milky coffee and fresh croissants, then we went to the Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Royal Academy (which is really what the picture is of, of course).  We had lunch in the Japan Centre, followed by a wander around the antique print and bookshops on the Charing Cross Road. Then we came home again, had a little snooze (ahem) and went out for dinner and comedy...

And on Sunday we woke up at 6.  And it was still bliss.  And we went out for breakfast again.  And realised that what we really wanted to do on Sunday was see our babies.  So we got in the car and went and got them.

It was one of the best weekends ever.   It was just about us. Being adults and enjoying each other's company, the sunshine, some culture, some good food and wine.  And it reminded us that underneath the sometimes fraught and always tired parents, we, and I, still exist.

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There are, as ever, amazing pictures in The Gallery.  See them here.

18 comments:

  1. Oh how lovely - what a fabul6ous weekend. I especially like the breakfast out in peace and quiet - and the going back to sleep at 6am (and after last night, sleeping until 6am seems a luxury, let alone going back to sleep then!). x

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  2. I really love this image, the composition, but more than that I love the fact that you got a weekend of speical me time.

    It seems so distant, but I am sure it will come for me and made sad and all that snoozing!

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  3. Great photo and nice story!

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  4. LOVE the photo, super cool - and the story behind it is lovely :)

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  5. Love the photo and your weekend sounds just perfect. I would pick that over an overpriced weekend break anytime!

    MD xx

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  6. Fab photo. Love it! And such a brilliant memory to have to accompany it :)

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  7. What a brilliant image! And a lovely story..it's so important to try and make that time to remember what it's all about. x

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  8. Amazing photo, like looking at you in lots of bubbles! Sounds like the perfect weekend - sometimes it's nice just to do the things you enjoyed before you had kids

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  9. That's fabulous. I loved reading the story behind it :)

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  10. Its wonderful sometimes isnt it to just spend time at home without distractions. London to me even though I dont live in it is on my doorstep and I love spending a day or two just exploring not worrying abut anything else, makes me feel like I've been ona mini break!

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  11. I love these stolen days. It's good to have time for you, and also for (ahem).

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  12. Amazing photo, I keep looking at it wondering how you did it.

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  13. Ooooh, lovely.

    You're going to have to take your parents with you when you move, aren't you?

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  14. What a great photo. And what a lovely day!

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  15. Cool! I have a very similar picture taken back in September at Anish Kappor's show. That installation is amazing.

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  16. A fab photo, all the more fab for the feeling of grown-upness that your post conveys!

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  17. Thank you all for lovely compliments on the picture - although I think the credit mostly goes to Mr Kapoor!

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  18. Sounds lovely - I can't wait until we can have a night off from our two, hopefully Babygirl will cooperate with sleeping soon

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