Leave Your Kids Behind

The Lion King came out in theaters when I was two years old. I’m pretty sure my mom didn’t take me to see it in the theaters, and if she did I don’t remember. Give me a break, I was two.

But I still remember watching it on VHS a million times over at my grandpas house. Sticking it in the little VHS rewinder machine, and then starting it over immediately.

From playing it so much, it starting getting kinda grainy in the opening Circle of Life scene. It would do that weird thing where the music and sound were playing but it would cut in and out.

Oh man, those were the days. Everything about that movie is nostalgic and just brings back memories as a kid. So when the new one came out, my wife and I decided that our two year old wasn’t going to watch it with us.

I mean seriously, what is a two year old going to get from this movie anyway. It’s not animated so it’s not like he’s going to care about the storyline. So we left his little butt and his baby brother with his Nana while we went and watched the movie in peace.

We were able to enjoy every moment of the movie without hearing AJ go “Daddy I’m hungry. Mommy I have to go potty. Mommy this is loud. Daddy this is scary.”

​NOPE! NONE OF IT! NOT TODAY!

Don’t get me wrong, I love including my kids in a lot of things. We take them to sporting events. They explore big cities. AJ has even been to Hawaii already.

But sometimes man, kids can be a bit of a third wheel. I love my wife, and to be fair, she was here before them kids. So naturally she has dibs.

Its rare, but there are times like these when we just gotta go out and do shit on our own. No kids, no whining, no diaper changing. Nothing. Just each other.

Of course other parents brought all their snot nosed little brats to watch a movie that was specifically made for adults ages 21-40. Every five minutes a kid was crying, whining, or asking to go to the bathroom.

And that’s fine. I get it. But every time a kid made any kind of noise my wife leaned over and said “And that’s why we didn’t bring the kids.”

We got to eat our own snacks without sharing. It was life changing.

Spending time with your kids is irreplaceable. But you have to make sure to spend time with yourself too, and your spouse.

Being with your kids for days in a row without a break can sometimes be exhausting. Kids are really needy, like all of the time.

Just this morning, I was taking a shit and my son comes running into the bathroom screaming “Daddy I have to go pee pee toilet right now!” Mind you I’m literally in the middle of taking a shit.

I can’t just get up and switch spots with him, so I had to scoot back on the seat, and create enough space for him between my legs for him to pee. So yeah, that’s what I’m working with.

So excuse me if I want a few hours of no kids and quality time with my wife. I don’t feel bad about it, and you shouldn’t either.

Make time for a date, even if it’s weeks from now. Tell your parents they’re going to watch the kids for a few hours while you go do the damn thang.

Now I know there’s some of you out there who be dropping your kids off everywhere all the time, but that’s for another article.

Take some time for yourself, and always remember to Leave your kids behind!