Nearly one in five married military members do not have children. At our SpouseBuzz LIVE event at MCAS Miramar, many of our participants described themselves as “pre-kid.” These young military couples want kids in the future, but for now they are working on establishing themselves in their careers, getting used to being married, and having the time of their lives.
Our participants put together this breezy list of things that they are enjoying in the pre-kid period of their lives. Which we thought was great. We remember when we used to sleep, too!
Would you add anything to their list of pre-kid enjoyments? At SpouseBuzz, we don’t want our military pre-kidders to miss anything…
- You can travel, party and enjoy spontaneous outings.
- You can freely borrow other people’s kids– and give them back.
- You can eat sushi, drink alcohol and suck up all the coffee you want.
- Feel free to have sex all around the house without an audience.
- Shop for yourself and know that you don’t have to share treats with kids.
- Rejoice that moving is easier.
- Learn about parenting by watching other people’s mistakes (knowing you will make your own!)
- SLEEP whenever you want.
- Have meltdowns freely.
- Know you don’t have to COOK every day.
Our thanks go to SpouseBuzz participants Lucille Ciudad Real, Leilani Nevarez, Ashleigh Green, Martha Russey, Nydia Santiago-Neal, Stephanie Rimer, and Andrea.
About Jacey Eckhart
Comments
Need to add "the ability TO sleep" to the sleep whenever you want too. lol I don't think I have had one nights sleep without waking since I had my first child 16 years ago! EEK!
Wow I never would of guessed 1 in 5 are childfree. Thats kind of astounding when you the bulk of activities are geared towards families with kids. But anyway awesome list! I'll keep sleeping in and day drinking =>
Oh so true!! It doesn't sound all that great to do or not have to do the things on the list but trust me, add all the little things together and it can be overwhelming! Cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, lack of sleep, having to share EVERYTHING, we just moved and this house is a bit echoey so none for us, you can't watch whatever movies you want (and just when things are getting steamy here come the kids), it takes an hour to get everyone ready to go shopping and that is a whole other ordeal. I wouldn't change my life for the world but I savor the moments when all the kids are in bed (if I am not too tired) and on the rare occasion when a relative keeps them for a night. Oh and the diapers!!!
One thing I would add is being able to shop or run errands kid-stress-free. There is nothing like the work-out of constantly bending over to retrieve the items that your kid continuously launches out of the cart as you move up and down the aisles at the grocery store. Or the frantic struggle to try on a few outfits as fast as possible to prevent your kid's iminent meltdown or escape from the dressing room. Or the struggle to hold onto multiple packages in the long line at the post office while your kid decides now is a good time to run around like a maniac. Thankfully there is hourly drop-off childcare.