Once More Into The Wilderness…
For fourteen months of my 20’s I backpacked solo around the world. It was the best year of my life… I was young, I was free, I was carelessly crazy and I even met my husband on the other side of the globe. Then I became a mum and said goodbye to that wonderful adventurous life I had. Never again did I think I would get to do all the fantastic, bonkers, weird, adventurous stuff again. How wrong I was!
40 Ways Motherhood is Like Backpacking
1. You spend your whole time carrying something ridiculously heavy, but no one is willing to take it off you.
2. You get to do the Smell Test on clothes every day… but this time it’s someone else’s underwear.
3. You rarely get a chance to shower.
4. You never know who will be in your bed when you wake up.
5. You learn to sleep anywhere, at any given opportunity.
6. You leave everything until the last minute.
7. If you have to climb the stairs of another bunk bed you will scream!
8. You are always re-packing a massive bag full of crap you probably don’t need, and it weighs a tonne.
9. You call complete strangers ‘friends’ just because you both have one thing in common.
10. Make up is only for special occasions…
11. …that goes for bras too.
12. You can’t afford to treat yourself to anything fancy.
13. But alcohol is an exception, there is ALWAYS budget for alcohol.
14. You are surrounded by irritating people all day…
15. …and you rarely have a clue what they are going on about.
16. There are daily trips to places that sound more exciting than they really are…
17. …full of more irritating people.
18. You will eat anything, at any time, you just feel lucky to get to eat today.
19. You are no longer afraid of the wild things.
20. Your To Do list never happens.
21. You realise just how much you love your own company.
22. Your clothes are never 100% clean.
23. Everyone presumes you aren’t that smart.
24. You start each morning wondering what amazing things the day will bring…
25. …and go to bed disappointed and amazed that you actually had to do such horrid/terrifying things!
26. YOU think it’s disgusting – THEY think it’s normal.
27. You can never have sex without the constant fear that you will be interrupted.
28. You have to share your eating area with filthy ill-mannered pigs.
29. You would do anything to spend a day with people that really know you.
31. There’s always someone crying…
32. …and someone laughing hysterically.
33. You have no bloody clue what you are doing, but no one has noticed. Yet.
34. People warned you, you didn’t listen.
35. You are never as alone as you’d like to be.
36. You want to go back to how things were…
37. …but then never ever want to go back to how things were!
38. You can’t take all that weight on your shoulders much longer.
39. You are having the best time of your life.
40. And you realise just how much you love your family.
And that’s why motherhood is like backpacking and my biggest adventure yet… hard work, exhilarating, exhausting, wondrous and doesn’t last for ever. And I know, much like the travels of my youth, I will look back on being a Mum in years to come and forget all the boring and difficult bits and only remember the funny and the fun times.
Then tell every poor unsuspecting bugger that it’s something they simply MUST do!!!
