When I was a child, staying in my pajamas all day long meant that I was sick. I hung out on the couch, watched TV all day and my mom brought me soup, ginger ale, jello and my medicine. (note: as an adult, I have a strong aversion to ginger ale and jello).
When I was in college, staying in my pajamas all day long meant that I was hungover from the night before. Or too lazy to get dressed because it was a rainy weekend ( ok, ok...sometimes classes were missed here and there...who on Earth could get to a friggin' math class at 8:15 on a Friday morning?!), and my roommate(s) and I were going to order pizza from Domino's (those geniuses accepted our meal cards as payment). We would hang out with whoever else was around the dorm and watch TV, eat, talk, gossip, laugh, and nap.
When I was out in the real world after college, staying in my pajamas all day meant I was sick. Or too lazy to leave my apartment. Or healing from a break-up. (cue the eating, napping and TV watching). But the space was all mine and I could use it as I see fit.
When John and I met, and later when we were married and childless, staying in my pajamas all day meant that we were spending the weekend together. We would sleep in, order in food, nap, watch TV, nap some more and just enjoy our down time together. The weekdays were always "go, go, go", so it was nice to stop and have a weekend 'stay-cation' every now and then.
Now that we have a child, staying in my pajamas all day means that I'm tired. I'm too busy taking care of someone else's every want and need that I don't have much time for myself. I am, however, proud to report that she is dressed every single day, no matter what. And when our little lady is dry, fed, and content, the other time I do have is spent washing bottles, cleaning (translation: moving piles of paper from one end of our dining room table to another), doing laundry, and, lately, trying to get a 9 pound person to eek out a smile for her mommy by acting like a moron. (it works from time to time, too!) Sometimes frosting from a can (goodness gracious...I do LOVE frosting!!!) is part of my lunch. I often go make-up free, bra free, and nap free. Most days, I don't get the chance to shower until John comes home, and then I change into a new (and, yes, clean) pair of pajamas.
But the truth is that I would not change any of it. I am so thrilled have my membership card to the mommy club that I would gladly spend the rest of my days like this. Sure, I would need to put on a bra from time to time, and need to replace the frosting with some protein, but to me all this means that the millions of wishes I made have finally come true. And that's better than frosting any day.
