Thursday, June 14, 2012

Uninterruptable

If I were a superhero, I would chose the power of uninterruptability. 

Picture this: me nonchalantly folding laundry, when a stray child wanders in, asking for a snack. 

BAM!! Mummy-pause! 

The child is frozen in hyperspace, unable to move or talk, happy in their stasis. I can finish my folding, blissfully uninterrupted. Everybody wins!

Way back when I worked for money, I was once complimented on my ability to concentrate in the face of willful distraction. This was remarkably handy, as I worked in an open plan office full of boisterous soldiers. There were regular games of office football (Terry Tate had nothing on this mob) and nobody batted an eyelid if a conversation was conducted well above the decibel level recommended for ears unencumbered by protective muffs. Yet I could stick my head down and carry on, regardless. 

But now? 

It's futile. Nothing cuts through my task focus faster than a small child of derivative DNA. 

"Mummy I want a snack please! My tummy is Really Rumbling!" 

"Mama, dink? Dink?"

"What time's dinner, darling? And have you seen my shorts?"

"MAAAA!!!! I DID A POO!!!! I NEED HELP!!!"

And of course, the devastatingly quiet yet fearsome "uh oh...."

Well, my darlings, do you know what Mummy wants? The ability to finish a chore, a craft, a nap, a book chapter... hell, even a thought uninterrupted. 

I'm going to Sydney in a few weeks for my Grandmother's memorial.* The girls and Mr A are staying home, so it will just be me. Alone. And I'm flying.

It will be bliss. An hour of uninterrupted plane-reading, followed by an hour of uninterrupted train-thinking, followed by a solo lunch at a cafe where I won't have to pretend that a sugar sachet is a lamb that sings (unless I want to.)

BLISS.

I know that, in time, the girls will grow. They will make fewer and simpler demands on my time, until one day they leave home and Mr A and I will be left with our empty nest. We will probably sit together on the same couch we sit on now, and reminisce about the days Bug was too short to reach the apple crisper, so opened the more accessible freezer and brought out the lamb chops every time she wanted a snack. I guarantee we'll chuckle at the memory of Peanut constantly asking us to watch her ballet shows, using the brown woollen mat as a stage and introducing herself with great gravitas: "Daddies and gentlemummies! Welcome to my ballet show!" 

But now? 

Right now? 

I just want a sleep. 

Uninterrupted. 


{*she had a good run, she passed two weeks before her hundredth birthday, and her life was indeed a LIFE. Packed to the beam ends with worthy and exciting living.}

**If you're wondering why this post shows up twice in your feed, Blogger ate up the original while I was sleeping. Yep. My post was interrupted. Where's that superpower?!
We had a couple of comments on the original, and since I sincerely appreciate every comment in our conversation, I'll repost them here.

RoarSweetly said: "It's not so much a superpower...but I'd love a super remote control that I could point at my children and press mute, whenever I pleased."

Becky Bee said: " I would have that power too. Oh to drink a whole cup of tea whilst it is still hot! Instead I find a trail of half drunk, cold cups around the house, which have been hastily put down to deal with whatever 'drama' has arisen "

So, gentle readers, what super power would you choose? Are you uninterruptable?

17 comments:

  1. I've run out of ways of saying that you've put into words my exact feelings :) I've got a few days away booked whilst we are up in Queensland (then we swapsie and the husband does) to maintain sanity for a while longer and I think the view of a rainforest cabin will be wasted on this tired Mamma...I plan to sleep for three days running lol

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    1. Oh, that sounds like absolute heaven. It will be so lovely and warm and peaceful! Please tell me the cabin has room service. I will live vicariously through you, imagining clean fresh sheets and big bowls of room service wedges, and the ability to read a whole book in one sitting. I hope you blog it!

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    2. They leave you breakfast in a wicker basket each day on the door step lol No real room service but it is on the main street of a mountain village (I don't think it is technically a mountain mind you) so I plan to get lots of baked goods and chocolates to fill the bar fridge up!! The best of all part is it has a spa set into the floor next to the fire that over looks the rainforest and hills :O They offer massage and the town has an organic market, cafes, shops....oh I'm sooooo looking forward to it. I will take pictures and blog when I get back to mum's :)

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  2. Mute button. I can ignore or terrorize away the pleas for attention; its the shrill earsplitting giggles and the constant antagonizing each other that I can't handle. Might be nice to mute the loud gas related noises that emanate from the husband on opccasion as well.

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  3. Oh, yes. I know the feeling well. Mine would invisibility because then no one would be able to find me to interrupt what I'm doing. Plus I could eat all the chocolate and no one would ever know I'd been there.

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  4. I don't know what super power I would have - I'm keen on mute. But do be aware that the constant interuptions may have a long term detrimental effect. I have two 7 year olds. They are in greade 1, so have been at kinder and then a year and a half of school. My days are mine to do the various tasks I have to do, but sadly, I manage to interupt myself!! Yep, my washing is still half sorted, my cuppas still go cold.... sad, but true..... I tell ya, having little people has a long term effect - well past when you think it will pass.

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  5. I would love the super power of being able to split myself into 2.

    Play with baby and clean up at the same time??? Done.

    Go run an errand but yet still be able to keep an eye on baby while she's asleep... I could only dream.

    So put my super power down as split self into 2.

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    1. Yes! PERFECT!

      This is an excellent super power.

      But I reckon of I had it, after a week or so I would get greedy and want to be able to spilt myself in three... Maybe I just need a wife!

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  6. Oh my goodness....please invent that uninterruptable....i would love to just finish a job or a hot...even lukewarm cup of tea....or perhaps dress myself in something other than trackies in the morning...hmmm i might be digressing in to fantasies now!
    What a great post....you really do brighten my day and help me feel a little less like a socially isolated mummy x
    Enjoy that plane trip...sorry about the reason for it but that bliss may very well be indescribable when you get it!

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  7. Put me down for one of these as well!

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  8. If you figure out how to get that uninterrupted time without having to go out of town, please let me know. I haven't been able to finish a single thought -- much less a decent bowel movement -- since my daughter was born nearly 21 years ago!

    Then again, it's going to seem very quiet around here in another 6 or 7 years when my youngest has grown and flown.

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  9. I hate to burst your bubble. This is my second attempt to post this. I've been married to Mr Oz for 34years and my children are grown and flown. Mr Oz's ability to fill the interruption gap left by children is nothing short of a superpower in its own right. Somehow anything I need help with can wait but anything he want to find, needs an opinion on or requires another hand must be done NOW. I've tried putting him off until I've finished my task but then, he's knee deep in something else and I end up waiting for him to finish. The choice is 1-put up with the original interruption or 2-waste the rest of the day waiting for him to finish so that you can do whatever it was you were first asked for. HoHum!

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  10. I like this super power for sure. I think along those same lines Id just love the super power of being able to TRULY multitask. So.. I could get the drink, change the diaper, remove child from dangerous situation, and STILL continue on doing the chore/cup of coffee/whatever, I was doing before. That would be pretty awesome. :)

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  11. Hello! Totoro here, I found you!

    Best super power ever. How blissful it would be. I lol'd at the sugar packet singing sheep line!

    Great blog, I'll continue my stalking now.

    :)

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  12. Uninterruptable sounds good to me. I thought about splitting myself in two, but then the two Mes started fighting about who goes to get a pedicure and eat cinnamon sugar pretzels.

    I’ll stick with uninterruptable. Everybody wins.

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  13. Oh yes, see i have this power to keep on going with the interruptions, as a full time mummy, but in an office, i was in the thick of the action & talking (in the jobs while i was at Uni) i loved it.
    I love the flight to Sydney, mainly as the trip to Canberra airport is so short, easy, uncomplicated, then the trip up & down. We're doing Sydney this weekend, only we're driving (i'm going to a blog conference, husband will use the $10 zoo pass & take the 4 children to Taronga Zoo on the ferry) sounds pretty ace to me. I will have to concentrate, a blog conference, sounds so formal. Love Posie

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  14. I like the idea of Mute, but I'm thinking that the Uninterruptability Stasis thing would have Mute as an inbuilt feature anyway. Splitting myself into 2 sounds good initially but I fear it would turn me into a slave, forced to complete 48 hours of tasks each day. I'm sticking with your idea of Uninterruptability. Is there a cape involved? Or a superapron?

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