How much time alone w/o kids/husband is reasonable?
I (F) live with my husband and two children (10 and 13). We recently have had ongoing discussions regarding my desire for uninterrupted downtime at home. I’m curious if I am being unreasonable in what I am asking for.
My ideal scenario at this point in my parenting journey (particularly given the age of the kids) would be to be able to spend a couple of hours at at time on the weekend, reading or relaxing in a generally uninterrupted manner, at home. For example, 2-3 hours in an uninterrupted chunk of time on a Saturday.
When I am reading or relaxing at home, I prefer to be left entirely alone. No physical interruptions, no text or call interruptions, unless it’s an emergency.
My husband thinks this is unreasonable and believes that he/the kids sometimes will “need me” during these time blocks for various things and although there is a willingness to physically leave me alone, my husband in particular wants to still be able to text me with questions or other issues and get a text response during this downtime. I don’t agree. I believe that unless it’s an emergency or something unexpected that is genuinely time sensitive, I think it’s reasonable for folks to totally leave me alone, or to not expect a response from me.
Am I being unreasonable?
Note: My husband has historically been very supportive in me having time to myself away from the house, even when the kids were very young. I semi-frequently have dinners out with friends, or go do things by myself, or have vacations with friends without him/the kids. But during those times, I am still very responsive by text whenever possible and I feel like over the years I have definitely solidified an expectation on his part that I am always available by text…realizing now this is not really my ideal standard.