When I got pregnant with baby number two, my husband told me I should take a trip with my girl friends before the end of my maternity leave. Much to his surprise and jealousy, I actually did it! Last month a friend and I went to Mexico for 5 days. Without kids. Without spouses. It was the best thing ever. Moms out there, if you’re in a position to make this happen for yourself you must do so immediately. It was wonderful.
Sure, leading up to our departure date I swung back and forth from extremely excited to extremely guilty. I drummed up the worst-case scenarios of what would or could happen to my kids or myself if I were away from them, but I’m happy to report all that worrying was for nothing and the trip was totally worth it.
It was the little things that made the dependent-free trip so amazing:
The sun – so much beautiful, hot sun was a welcome break from the face hurting, grey of winter.
Sleeping in – you are the master of your own sleep and wake up time, I haven’t had that luxury since my daughter was born in 2013!
No cooking, no cleaning - I didn’t have to make ANY meals. Negotiate the number of bites, Wash ANY dishes. Clean ANYTHING. Bless the endlessly helpful hotel staff at our lovely hotel.
A few cocktails - I don’t drink much and didn’t get crazy with alcohol but I had a few drinks in the afternoon in the sun by the pool. By the pool, you guys!
Spending time with a good friend – I got a rare opportunity to spend some one on one time chatting, laughing and goofing around with a close friend. Time I truly valued, and can often be hard to come by with the hustle and bustle of adult lives.
I never felt so relaxed and well rested. No schedules, play dates, groceries, or bill paying. I absolutely love my kids and my husband and I missed them a lot while I was away. But we spoke everyday and saw each other on Face Time, while Mommy sunned herself on the beach!
It was a lovely break from an otherwise over scheduled, often sleep deprived (my son is 8 months old) life. And it recharged me. I came home with tanned skin, a renewed sense of patience, rested and reenergized to get back to our crazy beautiful lives. If there were one gift I could give fellow hardworking moms out there, it would be a trip like this one.
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