New era as a mother

AD, Anno Domini and BC, Before Christ? Our author Florina Schwander argues in favour of a new time calculation: OK or MK - «Without child» or «With child».

A ride on the Zurich Märlitram takes 20 minutes. In December, my children and a friend were allowed to take a ride on the rails with Father Christmas. In those 20 minutes, my friend and I made our way around the Christmas village, looked at the ice rink and several stalls, queued for a mulled wine - and drank it down. All this before the tram even arrived.
For me, those 20 minutes felt as relaxing as two hours.
«It's obvious,» said my friend, "as a mum, you have a completely different time calculation! "
And so 30 minutes of undisturbed lying in the bathtub feels like three days of wellness. A five-minute tram journey is enough to congratulate three people on their birthday/start of the week/new hairstyle by text message. At the same time, coffee is inhaled and a mental to-do list is written for shopping later.

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AD, BC or OK, without a child!

A typical case of mumsplaining, you think? Mummy explains the world? «Of course, you simply have less time with children. So why don't you stop complaining!»
But that's not my point at all, I find this new way of calculating time quite exciting. Thanks to my children and the limited time I can spend alone and unplanned, I've learnt to appreciate these «free times» in a whole new way. Rarely has a mulled wine tasted as good as the one I downed during the Märlitram journey! What's more, as much as I used to take wellness time-outs for granted, I now appreciate short bath sessions all the more. I like the fact that I plan and enjoy my time out much more consciously.

Mumsplaining? No way!

In general, I have the feeling that time has taken on a whole new meaning. I'm sure you've heard the saying «The days are long, the years are short» in relation to children. And I think there's something to it: how often have I wished for an early finish during a busy mum's day, only to find myself looking at photos of our little ones on the sofa with my husband? «Jechters, look how big they've grown already!» A classic.
Next summer, my two youngest children will start kindergarten and my eldest will start first grade, so I'll probably have more free time for myself. I'm already wondering whether these free hours will suddenly feel like days because I miss my kids so much?