The mum who is always waiting: How do you fill the time?

I'm on a day out with my team at Legoland Discovery Centre. I’m currently waiting whilst all four of them run riot in the soft play section. I’m entirely surplus to requirements right now. I can’t even really see them that well to watch the fun. They are so buried in the depths of padded mats and plastic slides that I’m struggling to catch a glimpse of a familiar sock or two, albeit being sat directly outside the only entrance/exit, I do know they are in there somewhere.

So I am sat, and pondering exactly how much time do parents just wait. Sit, stand, lean and wait.

A few years back, I took my eldest to The Warner Bros Harry Potter studios tour. Now I am absolutely full of admiration for the brilliance of J.K Rowling, but I’ll be honest, the content of Harry Potter is not really my thing. I’ve read bits of the book because my children have asked me to read it to them but I’ve never read whole book nor watched the films. And yet I took him, I took part in the bits I could (I can fly a broomstick that’s for sure), I drunk Butter Beer (yuck) but largely, I waited. I waited whilst my son read every single world of every single sign, watched every single second of every single video clip and listened intently to every single second of every single audio clip. I waited.

And much of it so pleasurable. Along with the waiting often comes the watching - watching them be happy and enjoy, learn, play is of course wonderful. But at the times when I am simply a chaperone, I need another focus. Something to keep my brain busy. Thank goodness for mummy friends who wait with you. Thank goodness for mobiles that you can waste time on social media on, surf the Internet on and even write random blogs on. And thank goodness for coffee shops who see the sitting target that is waiting parents and at least give us the chance for a cuppa whilst we wait.

I reckon if I add it all up I’m into a couple of years wait so far...and with four kids, I’ve probably got at least a few more ahead of me. I definitely need something more exciting than solitaire on my phone that’s for sure. Any tips to help pass the time grateful received. And happy waiting everyone.

Sally Hall is proud mum to four, founder of Dorothy & Theodore and author of One out of Nine - her soon to be published debut novel. She's also a lawyer in her free time! She is passionate about making memories and keeping them beautifully safe.

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