Author’s Note: I lost this draft months ago and just found it, so we’re time traveling back to New Years to see what my thoughts were five months ago.
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Over the holidays, we took a trip down to my sister-in-laws place a few hours south to do some Christmas/New Year’s celebrations. It was all fine and dandy out of the things we could control. I couldn’t control my dog getting sick on the first night and demanding to be let outside repeatedly in the middle of the first night. I also couldn’t control fireworks freaking her out on the second night. We were ready to head home by Day 3.
And that’s where things got interesting. My wife stayed with my son to hang out with her family more, and the dog and I headed back home, partially so I could watch the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl with my parents and brother. I knew this wasn’t going to be something that I enjoyed watching, but it gave me an excuse to head home early, and that’s all I needed.
That first day was a bit of a haze. I was going on about 8 hours of sleep the past two nights, and no more than two hours of uninterrupted slumber. My brain wasn’t fully functioning, but I was also able to get in a fairly good groove as I worked my way through the day.
The next morning, I pushed myself hard on a seven mile run. I drove to a place I had never been before, and just got after it. Usually, this would be a terrible idea as seven miles is right at the point where I’m pretty worn down for the day, but this day was different. Even after getting home, I was tired, but nothing crazy. I was able to go for four walks with the dog later in the day and overall, just be very productive. Sure, I rested at times, but the key was that I was able to rest on my schedule and do things on my schedule. That’s when I realized how easy it is to not have a kid.
It’s all about being on my own schedule. The dog is easy; she just follows my lead. The child is not easy as he will make sure he determines our schedule during the day. That lack of control just wears you down. It’s not the activities themselves that are difficult; it’s that you can’t dictate your rest during the day, and you can never fully rest, because you always have to be on some sort of alert as things change so fast with a kid running around. Not having a kid is so damn easy.
I felt so great that the next day I took the dog for a run of a few miles, then went for a walk with her and my parents. The funny thing about this is that my parents have me as a child, and despite being 37-years-old, I definitely messed up their schedule as I wanted to go for a walk on my schedule, and although they were awake, they definitely weren’t really up and moving yet in the morning. I’m still exhausting their asses, and I have no doubt my son will do the same.
And still, even though I felt rested and as sharp as ever, things slowed down a little too much by the afternoon. Luckily, I had the dog as I found out without the dog, I only last about 12 hours before losing my sanity. But with the dog, things are at least good for a short period.
The dog gives me enough purpose to get through the day without become a total piece of shit, but the dog, although needs attention, doesn’t command me to greatly change my schedule in order to please her. We are a team and basically understand our daily activities to ensure each other’s happiness.
It’s that freedom that makes the day so easy. With a kid around, even if you are resting, you are still on constant alert that the child may need you at any moment. You can never completely relax.
But even with the dog, I still missed my wife and child (probably a good thing) so I was happy to see them return. Do I love a totally relaxed lifestyle? Yes, a part of me absolutely loves it. But more of me has become a domesticated dude who likes having his family around.
Not having a kid may be easy, but this seems to be a case taking the easy way out may not be as fulfilling as going at it the hard way.